Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maastricht and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,656 in Maastricht, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Maastricht
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Maastricht Living Index
57

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

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Maastricht

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,656

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,656 per month in Maastricht vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Maastricht $2,656
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $3,753 per month in Maastricht vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Maastricht $3,753
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,850 per month in Maastricht vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Maastricht $4,850
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Maastricht costs about 121% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Maastricht sits 96% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.73 €17.64

$10.67 MX$199

84.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.9 €80.4

$43.80 MX$815

105.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.41 €11.10

$11.79 MX$219

5.26%

Cappuccino

$4.36 €3.90

$3.79 MX$70.5

15.04%

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

$3.84 €3.43

$1.30 MX$24.14

195.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 €2.73

$0.83 MX$15.51

267.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.57 €7.66

$3.15 MX$58.6

172.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 €4.98

$4.93 MX$91.8

12.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 €1.15

$1.41 MX$26.22

-9.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 €2.15

$2.20 MX$40.86

9.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$1.47 MX$27.40

76.87%

Eggs

$4.56 €4.07

$2.50 MX$46.46

82.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.84 €13.27

$7.29 MX$136

103.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.95 €12.48

$7.95 MX$148

75.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.63 €13.98

$12.86 MX$239

21.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 €2.38

$2.90 MX$53.9

-8.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.52 €2.26

$1.38 MX$25.74

82.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.69

$2.49 MX$46.35

-24.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 €4.00

$2.03 MX$37.77

120.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 €1.76

$2.02 MX$37.68

-2.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.90 MX$35.42

21.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.14 MX$21.30

17.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 €0.70

$1.24 MX$23.05

-37.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.84 €12.38

$4.27 MX$79.5

224.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.79 €6.07

$9.81 MX$183

-30.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.59 MX$29.51

-7.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.75 MX$51.1

-1.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.00 €3.58

$0.51 MX$9.58

684.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.6 €80.1

$27.39 MX$510

227.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 €4.42

$4.76 MX$88.6

3.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.51 €3.13

$3.25 MX$60.5

8.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$67.7 €60.5

$5.39 MX$100

1155.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 €2.11

$1.53 MX$28.44

54.25%

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

$41.9K €37.5K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

97.50%

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

$39.2K €35.0K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

68.35%

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

$292 €261

$83.5 MX$1,554

250.22%

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

$16.83 €15.05

$23.19 MX$431

-27.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.19 €43.98

$27.61 MX$514

78.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.95 €37.51

$56.4 MX$1,050

-25.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.89 €24.94

$28.19 MX$525

-1.06%

Cinema Ticket

$15.55 €13.90

$5.00 MX$93.1

211.00%

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

$1,232 €1,102

$207 MX$3,854

494.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K €11.8K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

152.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.8 €72.2

$43.45 MX$809

85.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.07 €34.04

$42.54 MX$792

-10.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 €99.8

$72.8 MX$1,354

53.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$88.4 MX$1,645

45.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,445 €1,292

$995 MX$18.5K

45.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,269 €1,135

$382 MX$7,116

231.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,312 €2,067

$1,674 MX$31.2K

38.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,776 €1,588

$1,081 MX$20.1K

64.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,381 €4,811

$3,909 MX$72.7K

37.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,770 €3,371

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-38.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,369 €3,012

$832 MX$15.5K

304.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.42

11.45

-61.40%

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

Last update for Maastricht: November 3, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Maastricht

$1.3K 47.8%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 69.9% $886

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maastricht

$358 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 62.5% $224

Groceries & Markets

Maastricht

$337 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 23.5% $79

Eating Out

Maastricht

$329 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 39.1% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Maastricht

$162 6.1%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 31.2% $50

Getting Around

Maastricht

$128 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 60.6% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Maastricht

$73 2.8%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 9% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,445 in Maastricht versus $995 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 Maastricht are about 4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90 in Maastricht versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $337 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Maastricht

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:23 11:23 PM

17:23 5:23 PM

6 h behind Maastricht

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,105

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Maastricht Playa del Carmen 8,430 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Maastricht
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

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

Maastricht costs about 121% more than Playa del Carmen, 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 $3,983 per month in Maastricht and $1,804 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 $995 there versus $1,445 in Maastricht.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,656 in Maastricht and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 55% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 69% 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 $1,202, than in Maastricht at $2,656. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Maastricht it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,202 versus $2,656 in Maastricht. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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