Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,433 in Los Cabos, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,433

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,433 in Los Cabos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Los Cabos $1,433
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,236 in Los Cabos versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Los Cabos $2,236
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,039 in Los Cabos versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Los Cabos $3,039
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Los Cabos is roughly 19% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Los Cabos is 5% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.25 MX$413

$10.92 MX$203

103.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.10 MX$801

$43.37 MX$805

-0.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.63 MX$253

$11.78 MX$219

15.70%

Cappuccino

$5.17 MX$96.1

$3.81 MX$70.7

35.70%

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

$2.35 MX$43.72

$1.28 MX$23.81

83.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.76

$0.78 MX$14.54

153.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 MX$94.2

$3.17 MX$58.8

59.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.23 MX$153

$4.93 MX$91.7

66.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.88

$1.41 MX$26.12

10.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$51.9

$2.22 MX$41.17

25.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 MX$42.15

$1.42 MX$26.32

59.86%

Eggs

$2.37 MX$44.06

$2.52 MX$46.85

-5.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.29 MX$173

$7.26 MX$135

27.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 MX$179

$7.70 MX$143

24.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.21 MX$320

$12.69 MX$236

35.62%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 MX$74.3

$2.78 MX$51.7

43.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.33

$1.37 MX$25.41

23.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 MX$53.5

$2.55 MX$47.37

12.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.40 MX$44.51

$2.12 MX$39.43

13.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.64

$1.94 MX$36.00

18.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 MX$47.25

$1.89 MX$35.02

34.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.15 MX$21.29

11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 MX$14.64

$1.18 MX$21.89

-33.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 MX$82.3

$4.30 MX$79.8

3.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 MX$192

$9.95 MX$185

4.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 MX$28.28

$1.58 MX$29.41

-3.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 MX$57.3

$2.67 MX$49.60

15.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 MX$25.45

$0.55 MX$10.28

149.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.56 MX$549

$26.62 MX$494

11.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 MX$46.13

$4.97 MX$92.3

-50.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.97 MX$36.58

$3.33 MX$61.9

-40.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.11 MX$188

$5.36 MX$99.5

88.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$24.96

$1.44 MX$26.82

-6.94%

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

$23.4K MX$434.7K

$20.7K MX$383.8K

13.27%

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

$23.3K MX$433.1K

$23.5K MX$435.8K

-0.62%

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

$56.6 MX$1,050

$84.8 MX$1,575

-33.31%

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

$27.37 MX$508

$23.41 MX$435

16.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.83 MX$443

$28.66 MX$532

-16.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.66 MX$607

$57.1 MX$1,059

-42.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.67 MX$365

$28.91 MX$537

-31.96%

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 MX$78.1

$5.14 MX$95.4

-18.09%

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

$214 MX$3,967

$207 MX$3,836

3.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,525 MX$84.0K

$3,927 MX$72.9K

15.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 MX$1,699

$43.35 MX$805

111.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.53 MX$734

$41.44 MX$770

-4.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 MX$2,290

$74.2 MX$1,378

66.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.9 MX$1,650

$89.3 MX$1,657

-0.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 MX$11.1K

$980 MX$18.2K

-39.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$438 MX$8,132

$381 MX$7,072

14.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 MX$18.7K

$1,708 MX$31.7K

-41.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 MX$13.8K

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-31.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,854 MX$34.4K

$3,943 MX$73.2K

-52.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,114 MX$20.7K

$6,158 MX$114.4K

-81.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$794 MX$14.7K

$735 MX$13.6K

8.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

11.45

-1.22%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: October 27, 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

Los Cabos

$438 30.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 13% $57

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$340 23.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 40.5% $138

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$304 21.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 16.3% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$154 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 27.7% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$108 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 27% $29

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$47 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 6.5% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$41 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 63.9% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $597 in Los Cabos and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Cabos pays 8% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43 in Los Cabos vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $304 vs $255, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:53 8:53 PM

22:53 10:53 PM

2 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Los Cabos Playa del Carmen 2,370 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Los Cabos
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Playa del Carmen is about 16% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Los Cabos, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $597 in Los Cabos versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Los Cabos. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,433 per month in Los Cabos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Los Cabos on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.