Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hillcrest and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,081 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

52

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
Learn more

Hillcrest Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hillcrest and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hillcrest and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,081 per month in Hillcrest vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Hillcrest $1,081
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,686 per month in Hillcrest vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Hillcrest $1,686
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,292 per month in Hillcrest vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Hillcrest $2,292
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Hillcrest is about 10% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Hillcrest and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Hillcrest 20% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.87 R 131

$10.67 MX$201

-26.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.34 R 636

$43.80 MX$824

-12.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.01 R 99.7

$11.79 MX$222

-49.02%

Cappuccino

$2.71 R 45.03

$3.79 MX$71.2

-28.50%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.30 MX$24.41

-12.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 R 14.88

$0.83 MX$15.69

8.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 40.68

$3.15 MX$59.2

-22.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 R 41.51

$4.93 MX$92.9

-49.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 R 19.50

$1.41 MX$26.51

-16.31%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.31

$2.20 MX$41.32

-55.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.86

$1.47 MX$27.71

2.04%

Eggs

$2.32 R 38.53

$2.50 MX$46.99

-7.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 R 136

$7.29 MX$137

12.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.05 R 83.7

$7.95 MX$150

-36.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.27 R 121

$12.86 MX$242

-43.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 R 21.46

$2.90 MX$54.5

-55.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.95

$1.38 MX$26.03

39.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.29

$2.49 MX$46.88

-21.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.75

$2.03 MX$38.20

-14.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.26

$2.02 MX$38.11

-27.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.94

$1.90 MX$35.82

-24.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 19.99

$1.14 MX$21.54

6.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.92

$1.24 MX$23.32

-8.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$4.27 MX$80.4

-13.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.80 R 79.6

$9.81 MX$185

-51.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.36

$1.59 MX$29.85

-11.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 R 32.55

$2.75 MX$51.7

-28.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.47

$0.51 MX$9.69

201.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 R 7.22

$4.76 MX$89.6

-90.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R 11.74

$3.25 MX$61.1

-78.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.70 R 128

$5.39 MX$101

42.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 R 24.11

$1.53 MX$28.76

-5.23%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.2K R 584.1K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

65.98%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.1K R 548.4K

$23.3K MX$437.8K

42.08%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$153 R 2,539

$83.5 MX$1,571

83.29%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$35.61 R 591

$23.19 MX$436

53.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.04 R 648

$27.61 MX$520

41.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.00 R 547

$56.4 MX$1,062

-41.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.55 R 225

$28.19 MX$531

-51.93%

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 R 121

$5.00 MX$94.1

45.80%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$310 R 5,149

$207 MX$3,897

49.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,429 R 123.3K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

42.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 R 856

$43.45 MX$818

18.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.96 R 464

$42.54 MX$801

-34.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.0 R 1,608

$72.8 MX$1,369

33.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.2 R 1,313

$88.4 MX$1,663

-10.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 R 6,248

$995 MX$18.7K

-62.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 R 5,850

$382 MX$7,197

-7.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 R 10.6K

$1,674 MX$31.5K

-61.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$732 R 12.1K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-32.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$764 R 12.7K

$3,909 MX$73.6K

-80.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$575 R 9,536

$6,138 MX$115.5K

-90.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

11.45

2.88%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Hillcrest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Hillcrest

$353 32.6%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 8.4% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hillcrest

$228 21.1%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 41% $93

Groceries & Markets

Hillcrest

$189 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 36% $68

Eating Out

Hillcrest

$139 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 44.1% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Hillcrest

$115 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 3.3% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Hillcrest

$48 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 39.6% $19

Getting Around

Hillcrest

$10 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 399% $40

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $377 in Hillcrest versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Hillcrest versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $189 vs $257 – making Hillcrest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:57 12:57 PM

05:57 5:57 AM

7 h behind Hillcrest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hillcrest Playa del Carmen 13,750 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Hillcrest
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Hillcrest vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,081 in Hillcrest, $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Hillcrest comes out roughly 10% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,622 per month in Hillcrest and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $377 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Hillcrest and $44 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,081 in Hillcrest and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Hillcrest costs $1,081 versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.