Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between La Merced and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in La Merced: $558 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in La Merced
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La Merced Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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La Merced

🇵🇪 Peru

$558

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $558 per month in La Merced vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

La Merced $558
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $910 per month in La Merced vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

La Merced $910
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,263 per month in La Merced vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

La Merced $1,263
Playa del Carmen $2,962

La Merced is about 54% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both La Merced and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – La Merced 59% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.38 PEN 15.10

$10.67 MX$199

-58.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.86 PEN 120

$43.80 MX$815

-20.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.01 PEN 24.19

$11.79 MX$219

-40.54%

Cappuccino

$3.18 PEN 10.97

$3.79 MX$70.5

-16.09%

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

$1.08 PEN 3.72

$1.30 MX$24.14

-16.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.24

$0.83 MX$15.51

-21.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.57 PEN 8.86

$3.15 MX$58.6

-18.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 PEN 14.81

$4.93 MX$91.8

-12.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.44

$1.41 MX$26.22

12.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 PEN 7.15

$2.20 MX$40.86

-5.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 PEN 4.43

$1.47 MX$27.40

-12.93%

Eggs

$2.35 PEN 8.11

$2.50 MX$46.47

-6.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.33 PEN 25.29

$7.29 MX$136

0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.78 PEN 19.94

$7.95 MX$148

-27.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.68 PEN 29.94

$12.86 MX$239

-32.50%

Apples (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.17

$2.90 MX$53.9

-68.28%

Banana (1kg)

$0.45 PEN 1.56

$1.38 MX$25.74

-67.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$2.49 MX$46.36

-87.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.71 PEN 2.46

$2.03 MX$37.78

-65.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.28 PEN 0.96

$2.02 MX$37.69

-86.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 PEN 1.55

$1.90 MX$35.42

-76.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 PEN 2.07

$1.14 MX$21.30

-47.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 3.01

$1.24 MX$23.06

-29.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.63 PEN 19.42

$4.27 MX$79.5

31.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 PEN 25.30

$9.81 MX$183

-25.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 PEN 6.56

$1.59 MX$29.51

19.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 PEN 10.61

$2.75 MX$51.1

12.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 PEN 11.84

$4.76 MX$88.6

-27.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.14

$3.25 MX$60.5

-36.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.64 PEN 26.37

$5.39 MX$100

41.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.64 PEN 5.65

$1.53 MX$28.44

7.19%

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

$21.7K PEN 75.0K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

2.53%

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

$28.9K PEN 99.8K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

24.40%

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

$66.7 PEN 230

$83.5 MX$1,554

-20.17%

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

$15.80 PEN 54.5

$23.19 MX$431

-31.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.06 PEN 93.4

$27.61 MX$514

-1.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$7.14 PEN 24.63

$5.00 MX$93.1

42.80%

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

$318 PEN 1,096

$207 MX$3,854

53.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K PEN 43.6K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

141.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 PEN 184

$43.45 MX$809

22.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.12 PEN 121

$42.54 MX$792

-17.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.7 PEN 289

$72.8 MX$1,354

15.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 PEN 273

$88.4 MX$1,645

-10.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.45

-23.32%

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

Last update for La Merced: October 31, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

La Merced

$185 33.1%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 39.1% $72

Eating Out

La Merced

$123 22%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 63.4% $78

Clothing & Footwear

La Merced

$113 20.3%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 1.6% $1.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

La Merced

$110 19.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 22.6% $25

Sport & Entertainment

La Merced

$14 * 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 365% $52

Getting Around

La Merced

$14 * 2.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 266% $37

Accommodation & Living

La Merced

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35 in La Merced versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $185 vs $257 – making La Merced the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇪 La Merced

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:16 5:16 PM

Same time as La Merced

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.258 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.88 PEN (1 PEN = 0.258 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

La Merced Playa del Carmen 3,530 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

La Merced
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 115% more than La Merced, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $837 per month in La Merced and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $558 in La Merced and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes La Merced about 54% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $318 per month in La Merced and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in La Merced, where all-in costs run around $558, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In La Merced 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 $558 in La Merced to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.