Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Mochis and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Los Mochis: $1,111 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Los Mochis
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Los Mochis Living Index
59

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

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Los Mochis

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,111

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,111 per month in Los Mochis vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Los Mochis $1,111
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,768 per month in Los Mochis vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Los Mochis $1,768
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,424 per month in Los Mochis vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Los Mochis $2,424
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Los Mochis is about 8% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Los Mochis and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Los Mochis 18% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.87 MX$127

$10.76 MX$199

-36.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.35 MX$598

$43.03 MX$795

-24.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.01 MX$203

$11.79 MX$218

-6.62%

Cappuccino

$3.17 MX$58.6

$3.87 MX$71.4

-18.09%

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

$1.10 MX$20.34

$1.37 MX$25.29

-19.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 MX$18.71

$0.84 MX$15.44

20.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 MX$46.20

$3.10 MX$57.3

-19.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 MX$63.0

$5.07 MX$93.6

-32.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.02

$1.44 MX$26.55

5.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 MX$50.8

$2.23 MX$41.23

23.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.61

$1.47 MX$27.17

16.33%

Eggs

$2.35 MX$43.44

$2.53 MX$46.71

-7.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$159

$7.30 MX$135

17.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.86 MX$145

22.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 MX$237

$12.79 MX$236

0.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.52 MX$46.55

$2.90 MX$53.6

-13.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.79

$1.44 MX$26.53

8.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.31

$2.55 MX$47.07

-27.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 MX$31.88

$2.06 MX$38.03

-16.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.99

$2.00 MX$36.97

-5.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.47

$2.01 MX$37.07

-9.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.36

$1.19 MX$22.02

20.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 MX$17.81

$1.26 MX$23.23

-23.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.74 MX$69.2

$4.40 MX$81.4

-15.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 MX$207

$9.59 MX$177

16.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MX$33.72

$1.59 MX$29.41

14.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 MX$57.2

$2.81 MX$51.9

9.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.73

$0.57 MX$10.47

21.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 MX$48.45

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 MX$36.02

$3.50 MX$64.6

-44.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.87 MX$201

$5.40 MX$99.8

101.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.34

$1.47 MX$27.08

-2.72%

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

$21.3K MX$393.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

1.33%

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

$23.9K MX$441.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-0.09%

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

$57.0 MX$1,053

$84.2 MX$1,556

-32.34%

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

$22.38 MX$414

$23.99 MX$443

-6.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.97 MX$554

$29.02 MX$536

3.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.05 MX$629

$63.0 MX$1,164

-45.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.97 MX$369

$29.14 MX$539

-31.47%

Cinema Ticket

$5.22 MX$96.5

$4.94 MX$91.3

5.67%

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

$222 MX$4,108

$204 MX$3,763

9.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,159 MX$95.3K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

30.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 MX$992

$43.60 MX$806

23.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.77 MX$753

$43.12 MX$797

-5.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,881

$75.8 MX$1,400

34.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 MX$1,625

$88.6 MX$1,637

-0.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$617 MX$11.4K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-38.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$387 MX$7,153

$374 MX$6,911

3.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 MX$19.0K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-39.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$777 MX$14.4K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-29.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,913 MX$35.4K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-51.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,292 MX$23.9K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-79.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 MX$12.0K

$754 MX$13.9K

-13.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.45

-1.31%

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

Last update for Los Mochis: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Mochis

$387 34.8%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 3.4% $13

Groceries & Markets

Los Mochis

$273 24.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 5.5% $15

Eating Out

Los Mochis

$154 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 31.5% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Los Mochis

$128 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 11.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Mochis

$109 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 25.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Los Mochis

$44 4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 63.8% $28

Getting Around

Los Mochis

$15 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 248% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $617 in Los Mochis versus $1,008 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 run about 16% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Los Mochis versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $273 in Los Mochis vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Mochis

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:24 1:24 AM

03:24 3:24 AM

2 h ahead of Los Mochis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

298,009

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Los Mochis Playa del Carmen 2,310 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Los Mochis
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 9% more than Los Mochis, 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 $1,667 per month in Los Mochis and $1,816 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 Los Mochis, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Los Mochis and $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 6% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Los Mochis, where all-in costs run around $1,111, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Los Mochis it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Los Mochis costs $1,111 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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