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

🙂 Solo nomad: Lac is 3.2% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 12.2% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Lac is 17.8% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 27.4% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.54 ALL 782
$11.85 MX$205
-19.49%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$36.38 ALL 2,983
$42.16 MX$730
-13.71%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.11 ALL 583
$10.75 MX$186
-33.86%
Cappuccino
$1.89 ALL 155
$3.47 MX$60.2
-45.53%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.59 ALL 130
$1.45 MX$25.17
9.66%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 ALL 71.5
$0.90 MX$15.64
-3.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.30 ALL 188
$3.05 MX$52.9
-24.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.34 ALL 274
$4.42 MX$76.5
-24.43%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.02 ALL 166
$1.37 MX$23.72
47.45%
White Bread (500g)
$0.85 ALL 69.9
$1.87 MX$32.43
-54.55%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.95 ALL 160
$1.54 MX$26.74
26.62%
Eggs
$3.03 ALL 249
$2.50 MX$43.36
21.20%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.41 ALL 771
$8.61 MX$149
9.29%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.89 ALL 647
$8.63 MX$150
-8.57%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.21 ALL 1,083
$11.02 MX$191
19.87%
Apples (1kg)
$1.72 ALL 141
$2.75 MX$47.62
-37.45%
Banana (1kg)
$2.38 ALL 195
$1.43 MX$24.73
66.43%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.43 ALL 117
$1.87 MX$32.44
-23.53%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.34 ALL 110
$2.17 MX$37.54
-38.25%
Potato (1kg)
$1.05 ALL 86.0
$1.88 MX$32.61
-44.15%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 ALL 102
$2.25 MX$38.91
-44.89%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.10 ALL 90.4
$1.07 MX$18.49
2.80%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.74 ALL 60.3
$1.07 MX$18.59
-30.84%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.99 ALL 328
$4.15 MX$72.0
-3.86%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.93 ALL 814
$10.34 MX$179
-3.97%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.73 ALL 142
$1.68 MX$29.08
2.98%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.19 ALL 97.8
$2.48 MX$43.02
-52.02%
🚌 Getting Around
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.45 ALL 37.00
$0.55 MX$9.61
-18.18%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$19.09 ALL 1,565
$26.53 MX$459
-28.04%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.55 ALL 291
$3.22 MX$55.7
10.25%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.18 ALL 261
$2.48 MX$42.98
28.23%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$17.73 ALL 1,454
$3.11 MX$53.9
470.10%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.18 ALL 179
$1.26 MX$21.75
73.02%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.2K ALL 2.9M
$30.7K MX$531.0K
14.79%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.8K ALL 2.1M
$24.0K MX$416.4K
7.13%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$67.7 ALL 5,550
$82.5 MX$1,429
-17.94%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.34 ALL 1,422
$22.29 MX$386
-22.21%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.13 ALL 1,322
$30.02 MX$520
-46.27%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$55.5 ALL 4,547
$51.4 MX$891
7.80%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.39 ALL 2,082
$18.29 MX$317
38.82%
Cinema Ticket
$8.14 ALL 667
$4.98 MX$86.3
63.45%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$95.7 ALL 7,844
$200 MX$3,464
-52.18%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
-
$5,304 MX$91.9K
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$46.20 ALL 3,789
$35.71 MX$618
29.38%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$53.1 ALL 4,358
$39.56 MX$685
34.33%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$93.5 ALL 7,669
$80.6 MX$1,395
16.10%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$139 ALL 11.4K
$88.3 MX$1,530
56.85%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$458 ALL 37.6K
$969 MX$16.8K
-52.70%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$341 ALL 27.9K
$482 MX$8,352
-29.37%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$601 ALL 49.3K
$1,595 MX$27.6K
-62.31%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$438 ALL 35.9K
$1,184 MX$20.5K
-62.97%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,977 ALL 162.1K
$4,050 MX$70.1K
-51.18%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,165 ALL 95.5K
$6,522 MX$113.0K
-82.14%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lac
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$756 MX$13.1K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4
11.42
-64.97%

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

Last update for Lac: 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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