Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Isla Mujeres: $1,103 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Isla Mujeres
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Isla Mujeres Living Index
59

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

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Isla Mujeres

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,103

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,103 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Isla Mujeres $1,103
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,760 in Isla Mujeres versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Isla Mujeres $1,760
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,416 in Isla Mujeres versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Isla Mujeres $2,416
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Isla Mujeres costs roughly 8% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Isla Mujeres 19% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$196

$10.86 MX$201

-2.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.10 MX$722

$44.21 MX$817

-11.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.70 MX$142

$11.76 MX$217

-34.52%

Cappuccino

$3.26 MX$60.2

$3.68 MX$68.0

-11.41%

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

$1.24 MX$22.93

$1.34 MX$24.79

-7.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.04

$0.82 MX$15.24

19.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 MX$40.08

$3.06 MX$56.6

-29.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 MX$73.9

$4.94 MX$91.2

-19.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.58

$1.47 MX$27.17

-2.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.52 MX$46.64

$2.22 MX$40.95

13.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.75

$1.48 MX$27.32

5.41%

Eggs

$2.33 MX$43.08

$2.49 MX$45.99

-6.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 MX$147

$7.52 MX$139

5.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.02 MX$148

$7.96 MX$147

0.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.38 MX$192

$12.57 MX$232

-17.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.09

$2.78 MX$51.3

-6.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 MX$26.02

$1.43 MX$26.37

-1.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.68

$2.62 MX$48.37

-34.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 MX$31.45

$2.14 MX$39.49

-20.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.19

$2.02 MX$37.38

-5.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.63

$1.99 MX$36.74

-3.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 MX$23.35

$1.14 MX$21.01

10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.14

$1.20 MX$22.18

-18.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 MX$77.7

$4.26 MX$78.7

-1.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.00 MX$203

$10.02 MX$185

9.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 MX$29.54

$1.54 MX$28.41

3.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.66 MX$49.17

4.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 MX$11.45

$0.53 MX$9.73

16.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 MX$46.85

$4.90 MX$90.6

-48.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 MX$29.42

$3.43 MX$63.5

-53.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 MX$157

$5.38 MX$99.4

57.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$23.31

$1.45 MX$26.76

-13.10%

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

$21.4K MX$396.2K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

1.33%

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

$22.1K MX$408.2K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-4.02%

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

$56.3 MX$1,041

$85.4 MX$1,577

-34.01%

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

$22.23 MX$411

$23.46 MX$434

-5.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.99 MX$517

$28.43 MX$525

-1.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.29 MX$671

$62.2 MX$1,149

-41.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.00 MX$296

$28.68 MX$530

-44.21%

Cinema Ticket

$4.64 MX$85.8

$5.10 MX$94.3

-9.02%

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

$210 MX$3,888

$201 MX$3,715

4.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,607 MX$66.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

-8.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 MX$961

$44.39 MX$820

17.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.19 MX$743

$41.35 MX$764

-2.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.8 MX$1,678

$72.7 MX$1,344

24.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 MX$1,492

$89.6 MX$1,656

-9.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$505 MX$9,338

$979 MX$18.1K

-48.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$395 MX$7,304

$373 MX$6,887

6.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$919 MX$17.0K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-45.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 MX$14.2K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-29.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,779 MX$32.9K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-54.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,176 MX$21.7K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-80.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.48

11.45

0.26%

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

Last update for Isla Mujeres: October 19, 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

Isla Mujeres

$395 35.9%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 5.7% $23

Groceries & Markets

Isla Mujeres

$249 22.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 3.8% $9.3

Eating Out

Isla Mujeres

$175 15.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 14.6% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Isla Mujeres

$119 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 5.9% $7.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isla Mujeres

$107 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 28.8% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Isla Mujeres

$46 4.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 58.9% $27

Getting Around

Isla Mujeres

$13 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 299% $39

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 $505 in Isla Mujeres and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39.00 in Isla Mujeres vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $258 per month, with Isla Mujeres cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Isla Mujeres

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:11 5:11 PM

Same time as Isla Mujeres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,174

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Isla Mujeres Playa del Carmen 76 km

From you

Isla Mujeres
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

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

Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,103 vs $1,204 including rent). Isla Mujeres is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,654 in Isla Mujeres 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $505 in Isla Mujeres 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 4% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,103 per month in Isla Mujeres versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,103 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Isla Mujeres but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Isla Mujeres 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.

Safety-wise, Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Isla Mujeres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.