Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ho and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ho: $683 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Ho
Learn more

Ho Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

🇬🇭 Ghana

$683

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ho 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 Ho and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $683 in Ho versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Ho $683
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,149 in Ho versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Ho $1,149
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,615 in Ho versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Ho $1,615
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Ho costs roughly 43% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ho 50% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.69 GHS 101

$10.92 MX$204

-20.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.2 GHS 593

$43.37 MX$810

18.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.18 GHS 118

$11.78 MX$220

-13.58%

Cappuccino

$4.50 GHS 52.1

$3.81 MX$71.2

18.11%

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

$1.56 GHS 18.07

$1.28 MX$23.96

21.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 GHS 5.48

$0.78 MX$14.63

-39.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.84 GHS 21.27

$3.17 MX$59.2

-41.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 GHS 25.49

$4.93 MX$92.2

-55.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.57 GHS 41.36

$1.41 MX$26.28

153.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 GHS 19.21

$2.22 MX$41.43

-25.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.10 GHS 35.89

$1.42 MX$26.48

118.31%

Eggs

$2.60 GHS 30.13

$2.52 MX$47.14

3.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.85 GHS 137

$7.26 MX$136

63.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.48 GHS 86.6

$7.70 MX$144

-2.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.09 GHS 117

$12.69 MX$237

-20.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.75 GHS 43.37

$2.78 MX$52.0

34.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 GHS 16.27

$1.37 MX$25.56

2.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 GHS 20.60

$2.55 MX$47.66

-30.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.53 GHS 40.89

$2.12 MX$39.67

66.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 GHS 32.32

$1.94 MX$36.22

43.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.78 GHS 32.19

$1.89 MX$35.24

47.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 GHS 8.63

$1.15 MX$21.42

-34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 GHS 6.68

$1.18 MX$22.03

-50.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.53 GHS 29.31

$4.30 MX$80.3

-41.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.03 GHS 81.5

$9.95 MX$186

-29.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 GHS 14.95

$1.58 MX$29.59

-18.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 GHS 27.79

$2.67 MX$49.91

-10.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 GHS 20.22

$4.97 MX$92.9

-64.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 GHS 15.28

$3.33 MX$62.2

-60.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 GHS 50.6

$5.36 MX$100

-18.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 GHS 15.69

$1.44 MX$26.98

-5.56%

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

$7,868 GHS 91.1K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

-61.93%

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

$20.2K GHS 234.5K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

-13.71%

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

$74.6 GHS 863

$84.8 MX$1,584

-12.07%

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

$19.63 GHS 227

$23.41 MX$437

-16.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.36 GHS 502

$28.66 MX$535

51.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$13.15 GHS 152

$5.14 MX$96.0

155.84%

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

$463 GHS 5,366

$207 MX$3,860

124.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K GHS 218.1K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

379.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.51 GHS 168

$43.35 MX$810

-66.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.97 GHS 220

$41.44 MX$774

-54.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.41 GHS 422

$74.2 MX$1,386

-50.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.2 GHS 616

$89.3 MX$1,668

-40.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.75

11.45

133.62%

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

Last update for Ho: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

$279 40.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 8.8% $25

Eating Out

$176 25.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 15.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

$138 20.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 0.5% $0.7

Clothing & Footwear

$55 8.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 102% $56

Sport & Entertainment

$26 * 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 156% $41

Getting Around

$8.3 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 505% $42

Accommodation & Living

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $51 in Ho vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Ho

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:57 2:57 PM

09:57 9:57 AM

5 h behind Ho

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,715

149,923

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.64 USD

100 GHS = 7.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 11.58 GHS (100 GHS = 8.64 USD). 1 EUR = 12.89 GHS (100 GHS = 7.76 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GHS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ho Playa del Carmen 9,490 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ho
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

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

Ho and Playa del Carmen differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($683 vs $1,204 including rent). Ho is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,024 in Ho and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $463 in Ho versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $51 in Ho. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $683 in Ho versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ho but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ho the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.