Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kumasi and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Kumasi: $488 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kumasi
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Kumasi Living Index
59

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

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Kumasi

🇬🇭 Ghana

$488

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $488 per month in Kumasi vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kumasi $488
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $805 per month in Kumasi vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kumasi $805
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,123 per month in Kumasi vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kumasi $1,123
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Kumasi is about 60% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Kumasi and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Kumasi 64% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.50 GHS 40.74

$10.76 MX$199

-67.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.71 GHS 392

$43.03 MX$795

-21.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.15 GHS 118

$11.79 MX$218

-13.91%

Cappuccino

$1.08 GHS 12.53

$3.87 MX$71.4

-72.09%

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

$0.71 GHS 8.22

$1.37 MX$25.29

-48.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 GHS 3.05

$0.84 MX$15.44

-69.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.91 GHS 10.53

$3.10 MX$57.3

-70.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 GHS 19.34

$5.07 MX$93.6

-67.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 GHS 20.65

$1.44 MX$26.55

23.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 GHS 19.09

$2.23 MX$41.23

-26.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 GHS 20.35

$1.47 MX$27.17

19.05%

Eggs

$2.39 GHS 27.81

$2.53 MX$46.71

-5.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.49 GHS 63.8

$7.30 MX$135

-24.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.54 GHS 52.8

$7.86 MX$145

-42.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.81 GHS 55.9

$12.79 MX$236

-62.39%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 GHS 19.50

$2.90 MX$53.6

-42.07%

Banana (1kg)

$0.83 GHS 9.66

$1.44 MX$26.53

-42.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.84 GHS 9.73

$2.55 MX$47.07

-67.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 GHS 24.39

$2.06 MX$38.03

1.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 GHS 19.34

$2.00 MX$36.97

-17.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 GHS 14.89

$2.01 MX$37.07

-36.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 GHS 8.70

$1.19 MX$22.02

-36.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 GHS 6.59

$1.26 MX$23.23

-54.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$0.87 GHS 10.18

$4.40 MX$81.4

-80.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$1.25 GHS 14.56

$9.59 MX$177

-86.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 GHS 14.22

$1.59 MX$29.41

-23.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 GHS 27.88

$2.81 MX$51.9

-14.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 GHS 6.09

$0.57 MX$10.47

-8.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.34 GHS 237

$27.82 MX$514

-26.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 GHS 9.49

$4.98 MX$92.1

-83.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 GHS 14.44

$3.50 MX$64.6

-64.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 GHS 20.03

$5.40 MX$99.8

-68.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 GHS 13.18

$1.47 MX$27.08

-23.13%

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

$7,902 GHS 91.9K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

-62.34%

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

$9,972 GHS 116.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-58.29%

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

$41.97 GHS 488

$84.2 MX$1,556

-50.16%

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

$19.43 GHS 226

$23.99 MX$443

-19.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.24 GHS 491

$29.02 MX$536

45.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.23 GHS 352

$63.0 MX$1,164

-52.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$12.60 GHS 147

$4.94 MX$91.3

155.06%

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

$459 GHS 5,337

$204 MX$3,763

125.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,536 GHS 64.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

40.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.50 GHS 169

$43.60 MX$806

-66.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.32 GHS 213

$43.12 MX$797

-57.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$35.88 GHS 417

$75.8 MX$1,400

-52.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.8 GHS 602

$88.6 MX$1,637

-41.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$408 GHS 4,750

$754 MX$13.9K

-45.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.75

11.45

133.62%

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

Last update for Kumasi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kumasi

$162 33.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 59.3% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kumasi

$104 21.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 32.4% $34

Eating Out

Kumasi

$83 17%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 143% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Kumasi

$55 11.4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 31.5% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Kumasi

$54 11.1%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 108% $59

Getting Around

Kumasi

$29 6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 78.4% $23

Accommodation & Living

Kumasi

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 85% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34.00 in Kumasi versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $162 vs $258 – making Kumasi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Kumasi

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

13:22 1:22 PM

5 h behind Kumasi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,517,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.6 USD

100 GHS = 7.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 11.63 GHS (100 GHS = 8.6 USD). 1 EUR = 13.08 GHS (100 GHS = 7.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GHS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kumasi Playa del Carmen 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kumasi
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $488 in Kumasi, $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 148% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $732 per month in Kumasi and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Groceries cost about 59% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34.00 in Kumasi and $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Kumasi, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Kumasi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $488 in Kumasi to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Kumasi. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.