Cost of Living Comparison Between Johannesburg and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Johannesburg and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Johannesburg is 8.6% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Johannesburg is 11.2% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 19.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.08 R 184

$11.85 MX$210

-6.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.69 R 759

$42.16 MX$746

8.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 R 82.2

$10.75 MX$190

-53.95%

Cappuccino

$2.23 R 37.07

$3.47 MX$61.5

-35.73%

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

$1.00 R 16.59

$1.45 MX$25.72

-31.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 R 13.37

$0.90 MX$15.98

-11.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.64 R 43.84

$3.05 MX$54.1

-13.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.80

$4.42 MX$78.2

-44.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 R 20.02

$1.37 MX$24.24

-12.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 R 17.39

$1.87 MX$33.14

-43.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 R 27.13

$1.54 MX$27.32

5.84%

Eggs

$2.56 R 42.55

$2.50 MX$44.31

2.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 R 141

$8.61 MX$152

-1.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.81 R 80.0

$8.63 MX$153

-44.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.68 R 111

$11.02 MX$195

-39.38%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 R 26.97

$2.75 MX$48.67

-41.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.21

$1.43 MX$25.28

2.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.49

$1.87 MX$33.15

-18.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 R 26.66

$2.17 MX$38.37

-26.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.43 R 23.77

$1.88 MX$33.33

-23.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 R 23.35

$2.25 MX$39.76

-37.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 R 17.97

$1.07 MX$18.90

0.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 R 14.87

$1.07 MX$19.00

-16.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 52.3

$4.15 MX$73.5

-24.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

$10.34 MX$183

-41.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 R 22.59

$1.68 MX$29.72

-19.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 R 27.48

$2.48 MX$43.97

-33.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.70 R 28.32

$0.55 MX$9.82

209.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.1 R 1,181

$26.53 MX$470

167.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 R 19.05

$3.22 MX$56.9

-64.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.91

$2.48 MX$43.93

-63.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.01 R 66.6

$3.11 MX$55.0

28.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 R 21.24

$1.26 MX$22.22

1.59%

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

$22.5K R 373.3K

$30.7K MX$542.7K

-26.74%

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

$23.7K R 394.5K

$24.0K MX$425.5K

-1.26%

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

$118 R 1,959

$82.5 MX$1,460

42.92%

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

$40.87 R 679

$22.29 MX$394

83.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.16 R 717

$30.02 MX$531

43.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.37 R 571

$51.4 MX$911

-33.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.89 R 231

$18.29 MX$324

-24.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 R 121

$4.98 MX$88.2

46.39%

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

$208 R 3,464

$200 MX$3,540

4.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,878 R 81.1K

$5,304 MX$93.9K

-8.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.0 R 847

$35.71 MX$632

42.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.10 R 567

$39.56 MX$700

-13.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 R 1,490

$80.6 MX$1,426

11.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.9 R 1,328

$88.3 MX$1,563

-9.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$415 R 6,896

$969 MX$17.2K

-57.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$371 R 6,162

$482 MX$8,535

-23.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 R 15.1K

$1,595 MX$28.2K

-43.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$698 R 11.6K

$1,184 MX$21.0K

-41.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,061 R 17.6K

$4,050 MX$71.7K

-73.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$770 R 12.8K

$6,522 MX$115.4K

-88.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,669 R 27.7K

$756 MX$13.4K

120.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.51

11.42

0.79%

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

Last update for Johannesburg: February 28, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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