Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manzanillo and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Manzanillo and in Playa del Carmen: $1,230 and $1,210 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Manzanillo
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Manzanillo Living Index
59

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

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Manzanillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,230

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,230 in Manzanillo versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Manzanillo $1,230
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,152 in Manzanillo versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Manzanillo $2,152
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,075 in Manzanillo versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Manzanillo $3,075
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Manzanillo is roughly 2% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Manzanillo 9% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.10 MX$205

$10.76 MX$199

3.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.44 MX$599

$43.03 MX$795

-24.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.83 MX$200

$11.79 MX$218

-8.14%

Cappuccino

$3.58 MX$66.2

$3.87 MX$71.4

-7.49%

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

$1.17 MX$21.59

$1.37 MX$25.29

-14.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.54

$0.84 MX$15.44

39.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 MX$40.00

$3.10 MX$57.3

-30.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 MX$81.1

$5.07 MX$93.6

-13.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.40

$1.44 MX$26.55

2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 MX$47.96

$2.23 MX$41.23

16.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 MX$22.26

$1.47 MX$27.17

-18.37%

Eggs

$2.09 MX$38.64

$2.53 MX$46.71

-17.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.28 MX$153

$7.30 MX$135

13.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 MX$100

$7.86 MX$145

-31.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.93 MX$184

$12.79 MX$236

-22.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$2.90 MX$53.6

1.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.31

$1.44 MX$26.53

-1.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.89

$2.55 MX$47.07

-30.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.14

$2.06 MX$38.03

-26.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 MX$41.12

$2.00 MX$36.97

11.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.24

$2.01 MX$37.07

-15.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 MX$34.57

$1.19 MX$22.02

57.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.10

$1.26 MX$23.23

-4.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.44 MX$100

$4.40 MX$81.4

23.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.62 MX$122

$9.59 MX$177

-30.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 MX$33.77

$1.59 MX$29.41

15.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 MX$46.60

$2.81 MX$51.9

-10.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.90

$0.57 MX$10.47

31.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.41 MX$44.55

$4.98 MX$92.1

-51.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 MX$44.84

$3.50 MX$64.6

-30.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.40 MX$174

$5.40 MX$99.8

74.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MX$25.17

$1.47 MX$27.08

-7.48%

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

$20.9K MX$386.6K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

-0.30%

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

$24.4K MX$450.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

1.96%

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

$65.5 MX$1,211

$84.2 MX$1,556

-22.19%

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

$19.83 MX$367

$23.99 MX$443

-17.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.37 MX$543

$29.02 MX$536

1.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.3 MX$1,206

$63.0 MX$1,164

3.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.01 MX$610

$29.14 MX$539

13.28%

Cinema Ticket

$4.46 MX$82.4

$4.94 MX$91.3

-9.72%

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

$163 MX$3,016

$204 MX$3,763

-19.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,172 MX$132.5K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

81.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.02 MX$795

$43.60 MX$806

-1.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.85 MX$459

$43.12 MX$797

-42.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.6 MX$1,397

$75.8 MX$1,400

-0.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 MX$2,213

$88.6 MX$1,637

35.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$684 MX$12.6K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-32.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$479 MX$8,845

$374 MX$6,911

27.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,519 MX$28.1K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-11.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,373 MX$25.4K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

24.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$409 MX$7,563

$754 MX$13.9K

-45.73%

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 Manzanillo: 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

Manzanillo

$479 38.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 21.9% $105

Groceries & Markets

Manzanillo

$233 18.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 11% $26

Eating Out

Manzanillo

$193 15.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 4.6% $9

Clothing & Footwear

Manzanillo

$118 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 4.6% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manzanillo

$115 9.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 19.6% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Manzanillo

$74 6%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 1.8% $1.3

Getting Around

Manzanillo

$18 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 200% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $684 in Manzanillo and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 84% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Manzanillo vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $258 per month, with Manzanillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Manzanillo

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:34 4:34 PM

17:34 5:34 PM

1 h ahead of Manzanillo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,853

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

On the map

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Between locations

Manzanillo Playa del Carmen 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Manzanillo
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

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

Manzanillo and Playa del Carmen differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($1,230 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $684 in Manzanillo versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Manzanillo pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,230 per month in Manzanillo versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,230 in Manzanillo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Manzanillo. 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 2% less than in Manzanillo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.