Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koror and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,819 in Koror, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Koror
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Koror Living Index
57

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

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Koror

🇵🇼 Palau

$1,819

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,819 in Koror versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Koror $1,819
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,875 in Koror versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Koror $2,875
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,932 in Koror versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Koror $3,932
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Koror is roughly 51% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Koror is 35% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.69 $13.69

$10.67 MX$198

28.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.2 $76.2

$43.80 MX$813

73.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 $10.07

$11.79 MX$219

-14.59%

Cappuccino

$4.05 $4.05

$3.79 MX$70.3

6.86%

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

$1.36 $1.36

$1.30 MX$24.07

4.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 $1.09

$0.83 MX$15.47

31.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.46 $1.46

$3.15 MX$58.4

-53.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 $2.24

$4.93 MX$91.6

-54.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.60 $2.60

$1.41 MX$26.14

84.40%

White Bread (500g)

$3.38 $3.38

$2.20 MX$40.75

53.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.26 $0.26

$1.47 MX$27.33

-82.31%

Eggs

$6.52 $6.52

$2.50 MX$46.34

160.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.80 $9.80

$7.29 MX$135

34.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.96 $13.96

$7.95 MX$148

75.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.53 $19.53

$12.86 MX$239

51.87%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 $5.20

$2.90 MX$53.8

79.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.38 MX$25.67

56.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.56 $5.56

$2.49 MX$46.23

123.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$16.23 $16.23

$2.03 MX$37.67

699.51%

Potato (1kg)

$4.53 $4.53

$2.02 MX$37.58

124.26%

Onion (1kg)

$3.39 $3.39

$1.90 MX$35.32

78.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.14 MX$21.24

77.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 $1.80

$1.24 MX$22.99

45.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.77 $14.77

$4.27 MX$79.3

245.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.95 $22.95

$9.81 MX$182

133.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 $3.53

$1.59 MX$29.43

122.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 $3.34

$2.75 MX$51.0

21.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 $2.51

$4.76 MX$88.4

-47.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 $5.84

$5.39 MX$100

8.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.53 MX$28.36

28.76%

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

$17.3K $17.3K

$21.2K MX$393.7K

-18.43%

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

$15.0K $15.0K

$23.3K MX$431.7K

-35.55%

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

$83.5 MX$1,549

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

$52.3 $52.3

$23.19 MX$430

125.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$198 $198

$27.61 MX$512

617.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.9 $79.9

$56.4 MX$1,047

41.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$523

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.8

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

$247 $247

$207 MX$3,843

19.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 $85.0

$43.45 MX$806

95.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.7 $65.7

$42.54 MX$789

54.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$193 $193

$72.8 MX$1,350

164.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$196 $196

$88.4 MX$1,640

121.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$724 $724

$995 MX$18.5K

-27.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$526 $526

$382 MX$7,097

37.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,192 $2,192

$1,674 MX$31.1K

30.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 $938

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-13.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$113.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$801 $801

$832 MX$15.4K

-3.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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

Last update for Koror: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Koror

$526 28.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 27.3% $144

Groceries & Markets

Koror

$507 27.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 49.2% $250

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koror

$250 * 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 46.4% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Koror

$243 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 54.2% $132

Eating Out

Koror

$210 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 4.6% $9.7

Sport & Entertainment

Koror

$80 * 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 16.8% $13

Getting Around

Koror

$2.5 * 0.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1910% $48

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 $724 in Koror and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $76 in Koror vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $507 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇼 Koror

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

18:00 6:00 PM

14 h behind Koror

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,000

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Koror Playa del Carmen 14,510 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Koror
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,819 in Koror and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Koror. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $724 in Koror versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% higher in Koror. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,819 per month in Koror versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,819 in Koror, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Koror. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.