Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mansfield and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,708 in Mansfield, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Mansfield
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Mansfield Living Index
58

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

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Mansfield

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,708

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,708 in Mansfield versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Mansfield $2,708
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,842 in Mansfield versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Mansfield $3,842
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,977 in Mansfield versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Mansfield $4,977
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Mansfield is roughly 125% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mansfield is 99% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.67 A$26.45

$10.92 MX$203

70.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.7 A$121

$43.37 MX$808

97.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.69 A$13.73

$11.78 MX$219

-17.74%

Cappuccino

$4.44 A$6.29

$3.81 MX$71.0

16.54%

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

$2.45 A$3.48

$1.28 MX$23.89

91.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 A$2.93

$0.78 MX$14.58

165.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 A$11.26

$3.17 MX$59.0

150.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 A$9.86

$4.93 MX$91.9

41.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.35

$1.41 MX$26.20

17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 A$3.92

$2.22 MX$41.30

24.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 A$3.47

$1.42 MX$26.40

72.54%

Eggs

$4.95 A$7.01

$2.52 MX$47.00

96.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 A$14.93

$7.26 MX$135

45.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.11 A$12.90

$7.70 MX$143

18.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.89 A$21.09

$12.69 MX$236

17.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 A$4.84

$2.78 MX$51.9

23.02%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.42

$1.37 MX$25.49

127.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 A$4.21

$2.55 MX$47.52

16.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.36 A$6.18

$2.12 MX$39.55

105.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.39 A$3.39

$1.94 MX$36.11

23.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.46 A$3.48

$1.89 MX$35.13

30.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.38 A$3.37

$1.15 MX$21.36

106.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 A$2.28

$1.18 MX$21.96

36.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.48 A$58.8

$4.30 MX$80.0

864.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.95 A$19.76

$9.95 MX$185

40.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.00 A$7.08

$1.58 MX$29.50

216.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 A$6.60

$2.67 MX$49.76

74.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.80 A$3.96

$0.55 MX$10.31

409.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 A$133

$26.62 MX$496

253.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.05 A$4.33

$4.97 MX$92.6

-38.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 A$2.26

$3.33 MX$62.1

-52.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.17 A$55.5

$5.36 MX$99.8

630.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 A$2.00

$1.44 MX$26.90

-2.08%

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

$32.2K A$45.7K

$20.7K MX$385.0K

56.05%

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

$22.8K A$32.3K

$23.5K MX$437.2K

-2.91%

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

$227 A$321

$84.8 MX$1,580

167.20%

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

$27.42 A$38.84

$23.41 MX$436

17.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.9 A$80.6

$28.66 MX$534

98.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.0 A$82.1

$57.1 MX$1,063

1.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.99 A$28.32

$28.91 MX$539

-30.85%

Cinema Ticket

$13.96 A$19.77

$5.14 MX$95.7

171.60%

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

$1,940 A$2,748

$207 MX$3,848

839.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.7K A$30.7K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

451.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.3 A$111

$43.35 MX$808

80.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.0 A$76.5

$41.44 MX$772

30.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 A$152

$74.2 MX$1,382

44.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 A$175

$89.3 MX$1,663

38.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,570 A$2,225

$980 MX$18.2K

60.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 A$1,926

$381 MX$7,095

257.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,051 A$2,906

$1,708 MX$31.8K

20.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,973 A$2,796

$1,075 MX$20.0K

83.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,294 A$8,915

$3,943 MX$73.5K

59.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,563 A$6,464

$6,158 MX$114.7K

-25.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.45

-48.47%

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

Last update for Mansfield: October 26, 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

Mansfield

$1.4K 50.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 72% $979

Groceries & Markets

Mansfield

$368 13.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 30.8% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mansfield

$311 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 56% $174

Eating Out

Mansfield

$304 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 33.3% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Mansfield

$163 6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 31.6% $52

Getting Around

Mansfield

$116 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 56.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Mansfield

$86 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 21.6% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,570 in Mansfield and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $86 in Mansfield vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $368 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Mansfield

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:26 3:26 PM

23:26 11:26 PM

16 h behind Mansfield

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,600

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.634 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.634 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Mansfield Playa del Carmen 14,600 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mansfield
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,708 in Mansfield and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $4,062 in Mansfield and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,570 in Mansfield versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 72% less than in Mansfield. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,940 in Mansfield versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,708 in Mansfield, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mansfield. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Mansfield. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.