Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Male and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,530 in Male, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Male outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

74

Cost of Living Index in Male
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Male Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Male

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,530

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,530 in Male versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Male $1,530
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,451 in Male versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Male $2,451
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,373 in Male versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Male $3,373
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Male is roughly 26% 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: Male is 13% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.82 MVR 89.7

$10.76 MX$199

-45.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.04 MVR 602

$43.03 MX$795

-9.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.84 MVR 152

$11.79 MX$218

-16.54%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.80 MVR 74.0

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.89 MVR 75.5

Cappuccino

$3.51 MVR 54.1

$3.87 MX$71.4

-9.30%

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

$1.67 MVR 25.69

$1.37 MX$25.29

21.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 MVR 4.80

$0.84 MX$15.44

-63.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 MVR 30.68

$1.44 MX$26.55

38.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 MVR 26.08

$2.23 MX$41.23

-24.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 MVR 19.33

$1.47 MX$27.17

-14.97%

Eggs

$1.88 MVR 29.07

$2.53 MX$46.71

-25.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.61 MVR 164

$7.30 MX$135

45.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.16 MVR 95.0

$7.86 MX$145

-21.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.56 MVR 147

$12.79 MX$236

-25.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 MVR 61.4

$2.90 MX$53.6

37.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.98 MVR 45.98

$1.44 MX$26.53

106.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.03 MVR 62.1

$2.55 MX$47.07

58.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.73 MVR 42.16

$2.06 MX$38.03

32.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 MVR 32.01

$2.00 MX$36.97

4.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MVR 28.77

$2.01 MX$37.07

-6.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.12 MVR 32.73

$1.19 MX$22.02

78.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 MVR 9.09

$1.26 MX$23.23

-53.17%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.47 MVR 192

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 MVR 40.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 MVR 29.47

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.18 MVR 234

$4.40 MX$81.4

245.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 MVR 10.26

$0.57 MX$10.47

17.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.32 MVR 467

$27.82 MX$514

8.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.99 MVR 30.69

$4.98 MX$92.1

-60.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 MVR 30.55

$3.50 MX$64.6

-43.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.20 MVR 157

$5.40 MX$99.8

88.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 MVR 15.19

$1.47 MX$27.08

-33.33%

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

$32.1K MVR 495.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

52.98%

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

$29.2K MVR 451.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

22.34%

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

$119 MVR 1,829

$84.2 MX$1,556

40.85%

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

$30.12 MVR 465

$23.99 MX$443

25.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$73.9 MVR 1,140

$29.02 MX$536

154.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 MVR 1,100

$63.0 MX$1,164

13.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.67 MVR 519

$29.14 MX$539

15.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.76 MVR 150

$4.94 MX$91.3

97.57%

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

$181 MVR 2,797

$204 MX$3,763

-10.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,056 MVR 47.1K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

-22.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.52 MVR 609

$43.60 MX$806

-9.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.45 MVR 763

$43.12 MX$797

14.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.8 MVR 1,323

$75.8 MX$1,400

13.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.6 MVR 812

$88.6 MX$1,637

-40.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$938 MVR 14.5K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-6.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$709 MVR 10.9K

$374 MX$6,911

89.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,012 MVR 31.0K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

17.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,570 MVR 24.2K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

41.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,213 MVR 34.1K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-43.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,385 MVR 21.4K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-77.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$842 MVR 13.0K

$754 MX$13.9K

11.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

22.27%

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

Last update for Male: October 12, 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

Male

$709 46.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 47.3% $335

Groceries & Markets

Male

$234 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 10.6% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Male

$223 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 38.4% $85

Eating Out

Male

$126 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 60.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Male

$102 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 10.4% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Male

$91 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 19.8% $18

Getting Around

Male

$45 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 17.1% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $938 in Male and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Male pays 12% 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: $39.00 in Male vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $258 per month, with Male cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇻 Male

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:40 12:40 PM

02:40 2:40 AM

10 h behind Male

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

103,693 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MVR – Maldivian Rufiyaa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇻 Maldivian Rufiyaa (Rf)

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.34 MVR (100 MVR = 5.77 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to MVR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Male Playa del Carmen 16,540 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Male
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and leisure. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Male, 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: $938 in Male versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,530 per month in Male versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 26% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 9% less than in Male. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,530 in Male, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Male. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Male, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Male and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Male. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.