Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iquique and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Iquique: $1,009 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,009

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Iquique $1,009
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,595 in Iquique versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Iquique $1,595
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,181 in Iquique versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Iquique $2,181
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Iquique costs roughly 16% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Iquique 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.52 CLP 7,405

$10.86 MX$201

-30.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.89 CLP 40.3K

$44.21 MX$817

-7.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.09 CLP 6,979

$11.76 MX$217

-39.71%

Cappuccino

$3.45 CLP 3,400

$3.68 MX$68.0

-6.25%

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

$1.24 CLP 1,219

$1.34 MX$24.79

-7.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 CLP 1,002

$0.82 MX$15.24

24.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 CLP 3,141

$3.06 MX$56.6

4.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 CLP 3,562

$4.94 MX$91.2

-26.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 CLP 1,102

$1.47 MX$27.17

-23.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 CLP 1,148

$2.22 MX$40.95

-47.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 CLP 1,275

$1.48 MX$27.32

-12.16%

Eggs

$2.97 CLP 2,928

$2.49 MX$45.99

19.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.38 CLP 10.2K

$7.52 MX$139

38.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.13 CLP 9,973

$7.96 MX$147

27.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 CLP 2,263

$2.78 MX$51.3

-17.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 CLP 2,205

$1.43 MX$26.37

56.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 CLP 1,466

$2.62 MX$48.37

-43.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 CLP 1,071

$2.14 MX$39.49

-49.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 CLP 722

$2.02 MX$37.38

-63.86%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 CLP 574

$1.99 MX$36.74

-70.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 CLP 1,030

$1.14 MX$21.01

-7.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 CLP 1,328

$1.20 MX$22.18

12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.01 CLP 6,904

$4.26 MX$78.7

64.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.60 CLP 7,477

$10.02 MX$185

-24.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 CLP 793

$2.66 MX$49.17

-69.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 CLP 666

$0.53 MX$9.73

28.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 CLP 1,419

$1.45 MX$26.76

-0.69%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

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

$85.7 CLP 84.4K

$85.4 MX$1,577

0.39%

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

$15.04 CLP 14.8K

$23.46 MX$434

-35.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.18 CLP 22.8K

$28.43 MX$525

-18.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 CLP 49.3K

$62.2 MX$1,149

-19.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$6.87 CLP 6,764

$5.10 MX$94.3

34.71%

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

$251 CLP 247.1K

$201 MX$3,715

24.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.07 CLP 29.6K

$44.39 MX$820

-32.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.86 CLP 22.5K

$41.35 MX$764

-44.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.02 CLP 44.3K

$72.7 MX$1,344

-38.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.8 CLP 56.9K

$89.6 MX$1,656

-35.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$413 CLP 406.6K

$979 MX$18.1K

-57.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 CLP 388.3K

$373 MX$6,887

5.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 CLP 679.5K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-58.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 CLP 769.1K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-28.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,709 CLP 1.7M

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-56.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,902 CLP 1.9M

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-69.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$934 CLP 919.7K

$738 MX$13.6K

26.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

11.45

-34.50%

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

Last update for Iquique: October 18, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Iquique

$394 39.1%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 5.5% $22

Groceries & Markets

Iquique

$199 * 19.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 30.1% $60

Eating Out

Iquique

$155 15.4%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 29.1% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iquique

$124 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 10.8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Iquique

$70 7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 59.3% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Iquique

$64 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 13.5% $8.6

Getting Around

Iquique

$2.7 * 0.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 1807% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $413 in Iquique and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41.00 in Iquique vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $258 per month, with Iquique cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Iquique

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

06:40 6:40 AM

2 h behind Iquique

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,003

149,923

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Iquique Playa del Carmen 4,900 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Iquique
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

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

Iquique and Playa del Carmen differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,009 vs $1,204 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 27% higher in Iquique, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $413 in Iquique versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,009 per month in Iquique versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique 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.

Expats usually find Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.