Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Machakos is 55% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 64.4% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Machakos is 49% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 64.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.38 KES 307
$11.85 MX$208
-79.92%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$37.98 KES 4,908
$42.16 MX$742
-9.91%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.88 KES 888
$10.75 MX$189
-36.00%
Cappuccino
$1.97 KES 254
$3.47 MX$61.1
-43.23%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.70 KES 90.6
$1.45 MX$25.56
-51.72%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.50 KES 64.9
$0.90 MX$15.88
-44.44%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.95 KES 252
$3.05 MX$53.7
-36.07%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.78 KES 359
$4.42 MX$77.7
-37.10%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.41 KES 52.8
$1.37 MX$24.09
-70.07%
White Bread (500g)
$0.48 KES 62.0
$1.87 MX$32.93
-74.33%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.74 KES 95.8
$1.54 MX$27.15
-51.95%
Eggs
$1.42 KES 184
$2.50 MX$44.03
-43.20%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.66 KES 1,507
$8.61 MX$151
35.42%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.57 KES 849
$8.63 MX$152
-23.87%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$4.73 KES 611
$11.02 MX$194
-57.08%
Apples (1kg)
$1.59 KES 205
$2.75 MX$48.36
-42.18%
Banana (1kg)
$0.76 KES 97.9
$1.43 MX$25.12
-46.85%
Oranges (1kg)
$0.38 KES 49.02
$1.87 MX$32.94
-79.68%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.37 KES 47.98
$2.17 MX$38.13
-82.95%
Potato (1kg)
$0.80 KES 104
$1.88 MX$33.12
-57.45%
Onion (1kg)
$0.75 KES 96.3
$2.25 MX$39.51
-66.67%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.70 KES 90.3
$1.07 MX$18.78
-34.58%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.37 KES 48.31
$1.07 MX$18.88
-65.42%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.13 KES 404
$4.15 MX$73.1
-24.58%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.80 KES 1,524
$10.34 MX$182
14.12%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.96 KES 253
$1.68 MX$29.54
16.67%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.70 KES 349
$2.48 MX$43.69
8.87%
🚌 Getting Around
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$0.55 MX$9.76
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.53 MX$467
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.81 KES 104
$3.22 MX$56.6
-74.84%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.78 KES 101
$2.48 MX$43.65
-68.55%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.85 KES 368
$3.11 MX$54.7
-8.36%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.50 KES 194
$1.26 MX$22.09
19.05%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.4K KES 2.8M
$30.7K MX$539.3K
-30.24%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.8K KES 2.6M
$24.0K MX$422.8K
-17.49%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$33.71 KES 4,356
$82.5 MX$1,451
-59.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$7.88 KES 1,019
$22.29 MX$392
-64.65%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$11.40 KES 1,473
$30.02 MX$528
-62.03%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$51.4 MX$905
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.29 MX$322
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.21 KES 803
$4.98 MX$87.7
24.70%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$45.85 KES 5,925
$200 MX$3,518
-77.08%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,881 KES 1.0M
$5,304 MX$93.3K
48.57%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$11.68 KES 1,509
$35.71 MX$628
-67.29%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$23.91 KES 3,090
$39.56 MX$696
-39.56%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$65.7 KES 8,491
$80.6 MX$1,417
-18.42%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$38.48 KES 4,972
$88.3 MX$1,554
-56.43%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$91.2 KES 11.8K
$969 MX$17.1K
-90.59%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$70.6 KES 9,127
$482 MX$8,482
-85.35%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$156 KES 20.2K
$1,595 MX$28.1K
-90.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$118 KES 15.2K
$1,184 MX$20.8K
-90.04%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,050 MX$71.2K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$6,522 MX$114.7K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Machakos
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$381 KES 49.3K
$756 MX$13.3K
-49.59%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
14.84
11.42
29.95%

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

Last update for Machakos: March 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities