Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lake Macquarie and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,218 in Lake Macquarie, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lake Macquarie
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Lake Macquarie Living Index
58

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

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Lake Macquarie

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,218

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,218 per month in Lake Macquarie vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lake Macquarie $2,218
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,563 per month in Lake Macquarie vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lake Macquarie $3,563
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,907 per month in Lake Macquarie vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lake Macquarie $4,907
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Lake Macquarie costs about 84% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lake Macquarie sits 63% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.44 A$24.79

$10.92 MX$204

59.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$120

$43.37 MX$808

94.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.50 A$14.92

$11.78 MX$220

-10.87%

Cappuccino

$3.52 A$5.00

$3.81 MX$71.0

-7.61%

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

$3.15 A$4.47

$1.28 MX$23.90

146.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 A$2.90

$0.78 MX$14.59

161.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.20 A$10.23

$3.17 MX$59.0

127.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.91 A$9.81

$4.93 MX$92.0

40.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 A$1.64

$1.41 MX$26.22

-18.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 A$2.13

$2.22 MX$41.33

-32.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 A$2.26

$1.42 MX$26.42

11.97%

Eggs

$3.26 A$4.64

$2.52 MX$47.03

29.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.87 A$11.18

$7.26 MX$135

8.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.47 A$10.62

$7.70 MX$143

-2.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.54 A$17.82

$12.69 MX$237

-1.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 A$4.19

$2.78 MX$51.9

6.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.56 A$3.64

$1.37 MX$25.50

86.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 A$3.64

$2.55 MX$47.55

0.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.76 A$5.34

$2.12 MX$39.58

77.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.38 A$3.38

$1.94 MX$36.13

22.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 A$2.92

$1.89 MX$35.16

8.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 A$2.42

$1.15 MX$21.37

47.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 A$2.20

$1.18 MX$21.98

31.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.27 A$41.59

$4.30 MX$80.1

580.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.38 A$11.90

$9.95 MX$185

-15.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 A$4.11

$1.58 MX$29.52

82.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 A$3.25

$2.67 MX$49.79

-14.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.68 A$3.81

$0.55 MX$10.31

387.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.9 A$118

$26.62 MX$496

211.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.02 A$2.87

$4.97 MX$92.6

-59.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 A$4.52

$3.33 MX$62.1

-4.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.4 A$83.0

$5.36 MX$99.8

989.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.90

$1.44 MX$26.92

-6.94%

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

$28.4K A$40.3K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

37.26%

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

$24.3K A$34.5K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

3.49%

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

$236 A$335

$84.8 MX$1,581

178.36%

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

$11.39 A$16.19

$23.41 MX$436

-51.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.79 A$59.4

$28.66 MX$534

45.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.7 A$79.1

$57.1 MX$1,063

-2.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.12 A$25.75

$28.91 MX$539

-37.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.57 A$13.59

$5.14 MX$95.8

86.19%

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

$1,489 A$2,115

$207 MX$3,851

620.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K A$26.4K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

373.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.3 A$99.9

$43.35 MX$808

62.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.06 A$52.7

$41.44 MX$772

-10.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 A$140

$74.2 MX$1,383

32.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 A$158

$89.3 MX$1,664

24.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,380 A$1,961

$980 MX$18.3K

40.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,040 A$1,478

$381 MX$7,099

173.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,288 A$3,251

$1,708 MX$31.8K

33.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,267 A$3,222

$1,075 MX$20.0K

110.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,477 A$7,782

$3,943 MX$73.5K

38.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,415 A$7,694

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-12.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,072 A$7,207

$735 MX$13.7K

590.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.35

11.45

-62.01%

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

Last update for Lake Macquarie: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lake Macquarie

$1K 46.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 63.4% $659

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lake Macquarie

$289 13%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 52.7% $152

Eating Out

Lake Macquarie

$284 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 28.7% $82

Groceries & Markets

Lake Macquarie

$276 12.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 7.7% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Lake Macquarie

$143 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 21.7% $31

Getting Around

Lake Macquarie

$112 5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 54.8% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Lake Macquarie

$75 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 10% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,380 in Lake Macquarie versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lake Macquarie are about 6.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85 in Lake Macquarie versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Lake Macquarie

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:09 10:09 AM

18:09 6:09 PM

16 h behind Lake Macquarie

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,059

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lake Macquarie Playa del Carmen 14,110 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Lake Macquarie
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

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

Yes – Lake Macquarie is pricier by about 84%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,327 per month in Lake Macquarie and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,380 in Lake Macquarie.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,218 in Lake Macquarie and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 46% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 68% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Lake Macquarie at $2,218. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lake Macquarie it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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