Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iganga and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Iganga: $404 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Iganga
Learn more

Iganga Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Iganga

🇺🇬 Uganda

$404

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $404 in Iganga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Iganga $404
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $637 in Iganga versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Iganga $637
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $870 in Iganga versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Iganga $870
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Iganga costs roughly 66% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Iganga 70% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.47 UGX 10.8K

$10.92 MX$203

-77.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.87 UGX 104.6K

$43.37 MX$808

-44.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.43 UGX 32.5K

$11.78 MX$219

-36.93%

Cappuccino

$2.47 UGX 10.8K

$3.81 MX$71.0

-35.17%

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

$0.37 UGX 1,629

$1.28 MX$23.89

-71.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 UGX 1,195

$0.78 MX$14.58

-65.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 UGX 5,382

$3.17 MX$59.0

-61.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 UGX 8,038

$4.93 MX$91.9

-62.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.78 UGX 3,425

$1.41 MX$26.20

-44.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 UGX 3,807

$2.22 MX$41.30

-60.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 UGX 5,854

$1.42 MX$26.40

-5.63%

Eggs

$1.56 UGX 6,846

$2.52 MX$47.00

-38.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.35 UGX 19.0K

$7.26 MX$135

-40.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.54 UGX 19.9K

$7.70 MX$143

-41.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.69 UGX 20.5K

$12.69 MX$236

-63.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 UGX 8,894

$2.78 MX$51.9

-26.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 UGX 5,329

$1.37 MX$25.49

-10.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 UGX 5,665

$2.55 MX$47.52

-49.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 UGX 5,019

$2.12 MX$39.55

-45.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,371

$1.94 MX$36.11

-36.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,401

$1.89 MX$35.13

-34.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 UGX 3,362

$1.15 MX$21.36

-33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 UGX 2,253

$1.18 MX$21.96

-56.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.42 UGX 10.6K

$4.30 MX$80.0

-43.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.12 UGX 31.2K

$9.95 MX$185

-28.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 UGX 4,705

$1.58 MX$29.50

-32.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 UGX 8,051

$2.67 MX$49.76

-31.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 UGX 2,181

$4.97 MX$92.6

-89.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 UGX 1,376

$3.33 MX$62.1

-90.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 UGX 13.3K

$5.36 MX$99.8

-43.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 UGX 5,887

$1.44 MX$26.90

-6.94%

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

$7,296 UGX 32.0M

$20.7K MX$385.0K

-64.69%

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

$7,304 UGX 32.0M

$23.5K MX$437.2K

-68.87%

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

$67.4 UGX 295.1K

$84.8 MX$1,580

-20.53%

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

$11.43 UGX 50.1K

$23.41 MX$436

-51.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.69 UGX 147.6K

$28.66 MX$534

17.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 UGX 32.4K

$5.14 MX$95.7

43.97%

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

$249 UGX 1.1M

$207 MX$3,848

20.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,064 UGX 35.3M

$3,927 MX$73.2K

105.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.37 UGX 58.6K

$43.35 MX$808

-69.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.76 UGX 55.9K

$41.44 MX$772

-69.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$31.18 UGX 136.6K

$74.2 MX$1,382

-57.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.98 UGX 188.3K

$89.3 MX$1,663

-51.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

11.45

81.22%

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

Last update for Iganga: October 25, 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

Iganga

$145 35.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 75.7% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iganga

$113 27.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 21.6% $24

Eating Out

Iganga

$84 20.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 141% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Iganga

$45 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 148% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Iganga

$15 * 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 355% $53

Getting Around

Iganga

$2.1 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 2337% $48

Accommodation & Living

Iganga

- * 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: $24 in Iganga vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $145 vs $255 per month, with Iganga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Iganga

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:14 9:14 AM

01:14 1:14 AM

8 h behind Iganga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,500

149,923

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to UGX in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Iganga Playa del Carmen 13,140 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Iganga
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

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

Iganga is about 66% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $605 in Iganga 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 $249 in Iganga 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 Iganga – a meal for two runs $24 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $404 in Iganga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Iganga but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Iganga 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.