Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Margate, South Africa and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Margate: $883 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Margate
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Margate Living Index
57

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

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Margate

🇿🇦 South Africa

$883

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $883 in Margate versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Margate $883
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,419 in Margate versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Margate $1,419
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,956 in Margate versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Margate $1,956
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Margate costs roughly 27% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Margate 35% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.41 R 139

$10.67 MX$200

-21.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.18 R 596

$43.80 MX$823

-17.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.79 MX$221

-47.84%

Cappuccino

$1.86 R 30.65

$3.79 MX$71.1

-50.92%

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

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.30 MX$24.36

-20.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 R 13.56

$0.83 MX$15.65

-1.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R 40.21

$3.15 MX$59.1

-22.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 R 38.01

$4.93 MX$92.7

-53.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 R 16.26

$1.41 MX$26.46

-29.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 R 14.69

$2.20 MX$41.23

-59.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.59

$1.47 MX$27.66

-27.21%

Eggs

$2.30 R 37.91

$2.50 MX$46.89

-8.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.27 R 86.9

$7.29 MX$137

-27.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.49 R 57.5

$7.95 MX$149

-56.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.81 R 95.7

$12.86 MX$242

-54.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.19 R 19.68

$2.90 MX$54.4

-58.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.17 R 19.36

$1.38 MX$25.98

-15.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.59

$2.49 MX$46.78

-57.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 R 22.81

$2.03 MX$38.12

-32.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 R 16.81

$2.02 MX$38.03

-49.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 R 20.80

$1.90 MX$35.74

-33.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 R 18.76

$1.14 MX$21.49

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 16.00

$1.24 MX$23.27

-21.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.62 R 26.69

$4.27 MX$80.2

-62.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.62 R 59.6

$9.81 MX$184

-63.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.59 MX$29.78

-6.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 R 32.23

$2.75 MX$51.6

-28.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 R 27.26

$0.51 MX$9.67

223.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 R 6.65

$4.76 MX$89.4

-91.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 R 12.43

$3.25 MX$61.0

-76.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.80 R 129

$5.39 MX$101

44.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.12

$1.53 MX$28.70

-12.42%

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

$35.3K R 581.1K

$21.2K MX$398.4K

66.24%

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

$34.1K R 561.5K

$23.3K MX$436.9K

46.47%

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

$61.0 R 1,006

$83.5 MX$1,568

-26.90%

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

$18.22 R 300

$23.19 MX$435

-21.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.75 R 540

$27.61 MX$519

18.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.51 R 519

$56.4 MX$1,060

-44.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.19 R 184

$28.19 MX$529

-60.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 R 70.5

$5.00 MX$93.9

-14.40%

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

$316 R 5,210

$207 MX$3,889

52.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,369 R 121.4K

$5,231 MX$98.2K

40.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 R 876

$43.45 MX$816

22.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.09 R 298

$42.54 MX$799

-57.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.0 R 1,186

$72.8 MX$1,367

-1.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.72 R 803

$88.4 MX$1,660

-44.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$389 R 6,404

$995 MX$18.7K

-60.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$354 R 5,831

$382 MX$7,181

-7.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$1,674 MX$31.4K

-56.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 R 12.0K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-32.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$772 R 12.7K

$3,909 MX$73.4K

-80.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$671 R 11.1K

$6,138 MX$115.3K

-89.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,479 R 24.4K

$832 MX$15.6K

77.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.7

11.45

2.18%

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

Last update for Margate: November 1, 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

Margate

$354 40.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 8.1% $29

Groceries & Markets

Margate

$148 16.7%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 74.5% $110

Eating Out

Margate

$132 15%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 51.5% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Margate

$112 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 19.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Margate

$86 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 28.8% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Margate

$40 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 65.8% $26

Getting Around

Margate

$11 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 368% $40

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 $389 in Margate and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Margate pays 78% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Margate vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $148 vs $257 per month, with Margate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Margate

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:00 12:00 PM

05:00 5:00 AM

7 h behind Margate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,407

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Margate Playa del Carmen 13,730 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Margate
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

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

Margate wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Margate the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 78% higher in Margate, 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: $389 in Margate versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $316 in Margate versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Margate – a meal for two runs $36 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Margate is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.