Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Limbe and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Limbe: $876 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Limbe
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Limbe Living Index
57

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

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Limbe

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$876

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $876 in Limbe versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Limbe $876
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,516 in Limbe versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Limbe $1,516
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,156 in Limbe versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Limbe $2,156
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Limbe costs roughly 27% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Limbe 35% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.18 FCFA 2,448

$10.67 MX$199

-60.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$119 FCFA 69.6K

$43.80 MX$815

171.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.96 FCFA 4,081

$11.79 MX$219

-40.97%

Cappuccino

$1.03 FCFA 606

$3.79 MX$70.5

-72.82%

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

$1.57 FCFA 920

$1.30 MX$24.14

20.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 FCFA 457

$0.83 MX$15.51

-6.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 FCFA 715

$3.15 MX$58.6

-61.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 FCFA 1,535

$4.93 MX$91.8

-46.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 FCFA 1,470

$1.41 MX$26.22

78.01%

White Bread (500g)

$0.44 FCFA 257

$2.20 MX$40.86

-80.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 FCFA 924

$1.47 MX$27.40

7.48%

Eggs

$1.88 FCFA 1,101

$2.50 MX$46.46

-24.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 FCFA 5,372

$7.29 MX$136

25.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.68 FCFA 2,744

$7.95 MX$148

-41.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 FCFA 3,726

$12.86 MX$239

-50.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 FCFA 1,111

$2.90 MX$53.9

-34.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 FCFA 656

$1.38 MX$25.74

-18.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 FCFA 1,094

$2.49 MX$46.35

-24.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 FCFA 774

$2.03 MX$37.77

-34.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 FCFA 1,076

$2.02 MX$37.68

-8.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.10 FCFA 1,231

$1.90 MX$35.42

10.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 FCFA 427

$1.14 MX$21.30

-35.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 FCFA 387

$1.24 MX$23.05

-46.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.60 FCFA 1,522

$4.27 MX$79.5

-39.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.55 FCFA 5,012

$9.81 MX$183

-12.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 FCFA 852

$1.59 MX$29.51

-8.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 FCFA 1,001

$2.75 MX$51.1

-37.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 FCFA 478

$0.51 MX$9.58

58.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.63 FCFA 15.0K

$27.39 MX$510

-6.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.53 FCFA 313

$4.76 MX$88.6

-88.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 FCFA 117

$3.25 MX$60.5

-93.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 FCFA 1,011

$5.39 MX$100

-67.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 FCFA 674

$1.53 MX$28.44

-24.84%

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

$29.8K FCFA 17.4M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

40.30%

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

$15.3K FCFA 9.0M

$23.3K MX$432.9K

-34.07%

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

$84.5 FCFA 49.6K

$83.5 MX$1,554

1.26%

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

$26.04 FCFA 15.3K

$23.19 MX$431

12.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.4 FCFA 47.2K

$27.61 MX$514

191.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.77 FCFA 25.1K

$56.4 MX$1,050

-24.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$4.30 FCFA 2,518

$5.00 MX$93.1

-14.00%

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

$340 FCFA 199.6K

$207 MX$3,854

64.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,689 FCFA 990.3K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

-67.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.2 FCFA 47.0K

$43.45 MX$809

84.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.0 FCFA 39.3K

$42.54 MX$792

57.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 FCFA 79.7K

$72.8 MX$1,354

86.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 FCFA 86.8K

$88.4 MX$1,645

67.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$130 FCFA 76.4K

$382 MX$7,116

-65.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$137 FCFA 80.4K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-87.31%

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 %)

19.04

11.45

66.29%

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

Last update for Limbe: 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.

Clothing & Footwear

Limbe

$194 22.2%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 42.7% $83

Groceries & Markets

Limbe

$192 21.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 34.2% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Limbe

$191 21.8%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 29.7% $57

Accommodation & Living

Limbe

$130 14.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 194% $252

Eating Out

Limbe

$87 10%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 129% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Limbe

$51 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 29.3% $15

Getting Around

Limbe

$30 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 65.8% $20

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $119 in Limbe vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $192 vs $257, with Limbe cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇲 Limbe

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:30 12:30 AM

18:30 6:30 PM

6 h behind Limbe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

118,210

149,923

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 586 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to XAF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Limbe Playa del Carmen 10,500 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Limbe
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $876 in Limbe and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Limbe is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,315 in Limbe and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $119 in Limbe. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $876 in Limbe versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Limbe but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Limbe 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.