Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kamakura and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Kamakura: $1,138 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $790 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Kamakura
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Kamakura Living Index
59

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

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Kamakura

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,138

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,138 in Kamakura versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Kamakura $1,138
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,853 in Kamakura versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Kamakura $1,853
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,568 in Kamakura versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Kamakura $2,568
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Kamakura costs roughly 5% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kamakura 16% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.18 ¥976

$10.86 MX$201

-43.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.14 ¥4,920

$44.21 MX$817

-29.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 ¥795

$11.76 MX$217

-57.23%

Cappuccino

$2.45 ¥388

$3.68 MX$68.0

-33.42%

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

$1.09 ¥172

$1.34 MX$24.79

-18.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥120

$0.82 MX$15.24

-7.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ¥402

$3.06 MX$56.6

-16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 ¥501

$4.94 MX$91.2

-35.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 ¥227

$1.47 MX$27.17

-2.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 ¥242

$2.22 MX$40.95

-31.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.56 ¥562

$1.48 MX$27.32

140.54%

Eggs

$1.98 ¥312

$2.49 MX$45.99

-20.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.36 ¥1,638

$7.52 MX$139

37.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.21 ¥981

$7.96 MX$147

-21.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.45 ¥2,283

$12.57 MX$232

14.96%

Apples (1kg)

$5.56 ¥879

$2.78 MX$51.3

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 ¥425

$1.43 MX$26.37

88.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 ¥442

$2.62 MX$48.37

6.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.11 ¥649

$2.14 MX$39.49

92.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.56 ¥404

$2.02 MX$37.38

26.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.61 ¥413

$1.99 MX$36.74

31.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ¥186

$1.14 MX$21.01

3.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥120

$1.20 MX$22.18

-36.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.76 ¥594

$4.26 MX$78.7

-11.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.13 ¥968

$10.02 MX$185

-38.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 ¥286

$1.54 MX$28.41

17.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥326

$2.66 MX$49.17

-22.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 ¥237

$0.53 MX$9.73

183.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.83 ¥7,873

$27.51 MX$508

81.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 ¥504

$4.90 MX$90.6

-34.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 ¥430

$3.43 MX$63.5

-20.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.07 ¥2,540

$5.38 MX$99.4

198.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥174

$1.45 MX$26.76

-24.14%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$21.2K MX$391.0K

2.61%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-33.60%

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

$114 ¥18.0K

$85.4 MX$1,577

33.28%

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

$23.64 ¥3,735

$23.46 MX$434

0.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.91 ¥4,883

$28.43 MX$525

8.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.0 ¥8,218

$62.2 MX$1,149

-16.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$12.90 ¥2,038

$5.10 MX$94.3

152.94%

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

$585 ¥92.4K

$201 MX$3,715

190.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K ¥2.3M

$3,947 MX$72.9K

264.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.91 ¥7,884

$44.39 MX$820

12.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.52 ¥5,612

$41.35 MX$764

-14.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.4 ¥9,543

$72.7 MX$1,344

-16.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.5 ¥15.4K

$89.6 MX$1,656

8.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$483 ¥76.4K

$979 MX$18.1K

-50.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 ¥48.1K

$373 MX$6,887

-18.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ¥169.8K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-36.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$761 ¥120.3K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-30.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,688 ¥740.6K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

18.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,728 ¥273.0K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-71.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,749 ¥276.4K

$738 MX$13.6K

137.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

11.45

-82.36%

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

Last update for Kamakura: 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

Kamakura

$304 26.7%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 22.5% $68

Groceries & Markets

Kamakura

$285 25.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 9.4% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kamakura

$168 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 18.5% $31

Eating Out

Kamakura

$120 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 66.2% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Kamakura

$110 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 1.9% $2.1

Sport & Entertainment

Kamakura

$78 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 7% $5.4

Getting Around

Kamakura

$73 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 28.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $483 in Kamakura and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kamakura pays 137% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Kamakura vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $258, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kamakura

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

06:38 6:38 AM

14 h behind Kamakura

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,710

149,923

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kamakura Playa del Carmen 12,090 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Kamakura
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

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

Kamakura is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 137% higher in Kamakura, 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: $483 in Kamakura versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $585 in Kamakura versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,138 in Kamakura versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kamakura but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kamakura the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kamakura is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Kamakura 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 Kamakura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.