Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matara and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Matara: $576 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Matara
Learn more

Matara Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Matara

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$576

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $576 per month in Matara vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Matara $576
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $839 per month in Matara vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Matara $839
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,102 per month in Matara vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Matara $1,102
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Matara is about 52% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Matara and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Matara 58% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.73 LKR 1,241

$10.92 MX$204

-65.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.54 LKR 8,159

$43.37 MX$808

-43.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 LKR 2,503

$11.78 MX$220

-36.08%

Cappuccino

$2.44 LKR 810

$3.81 MX$71.0

-35.96%

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

$0.67 LKR 222

$1.28 MX$23.90

-47.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 83.1

$0.78 MX$14.59

-67.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 LKR 741

$3.17 MX$59.0

-29.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 LKR 1,017

$4.93 MX$92.0

-37.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 LKR 519

$1.41 MX$26.22

10.64%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 177

$2.22 MX$41.33

-76.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.76 LKR 253

$1.42 MX$26.42

-46.48%

Eggs

$1.53 LKR 509

$2.52 MX$47.03

-39.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.58 LKR 4,514

$7.26 MX$135

87.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.84 LKR 1,609

$7.70 MX$143

-37.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.26 LKR 2,415

$12.69 MX$237

-42.79%

Apples (1kg)

$6.71 LKR 2,230

$2.78 MX$51.9

141.37%

Banana (1kg)

$0.43 LKR 142

$1.37 MX$25.50

-68.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.46 LKR 1,481

$2.55 MX$47.55

74.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.91 LKR 302

$2.12 MX$39.58

-57.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 LKR 306

$1.94 MX$36.13

-52.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 LKR 193

$1.89 MX$35.16

-69.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 LKR 295

$1.15 MX$21.37

-22.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 151

$1.18 MX$21.98

-61.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.85 LKR 3,276

$4.30 MX$80.1

129.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.94 LKR 4,303

$9.95 MX$185

30.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 LKR 596

$1.58 MX$29.52

13.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 LKR 997

$2.67 MX$49.79

12.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 LKR 104

$0.55 MX$10.31

-43.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 133

$4.97 MX$92.6

-91.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 115

$3.33 MX$62.1

-89.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 LKR 317

$5.36 MX$99.8

-82.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 458

$1.44 MX$26.92

-4.17%

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

$44.2K LKR 14.7M

$20.7K MX$385.2K

114.08%

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

$41.3K LKR 13.7M

$23.5K MX$437.4K

76.18%

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

$46.17 LKR 15.4K

$84.8 MX$1,581

-45.55%

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

$4.22 LKR 1,403

$23.41 MX$436

-81.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.99 LKR 6,977

$28.66 MX$534

-26.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.60 LKR 1,530

$5.14 MX$95.8

-10.51%

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

$38.17 LKR 12.7K

$207 MX$3,851

-81.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,204 LKR 400.4K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-69.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.04 LKR 5,997

$43.35 MX$808

-58.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.90 LKR 5,618

$41.44 MX$772

-59.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 LKR 26.2K

$74.2 MX$1,383

6.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.70 LKR 13.9K

$89.3 MX$1,664

-53.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$179 LKR 59.6K

$980 MX$18.3K

-81.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$90.1 LKR 30.0K

$381 MX$7,099

-76.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$105 LKR 34.8K

$735 MX$13.7K

-85.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

11.45

10.83%

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

Last update for Matara: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Matara

$229 39.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 11.2% $26

Eating Out

Matara

$103 17.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 97.2% $100

Accommodation & Living

Matara

$90 15.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 323% $291

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matara

$71 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 91.7% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Matara

$70 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 59.6% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Matara

$9.2 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 631% $58

Getting Around

Matara

$3.4 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1388% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $179 in Matara versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Matara versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $229 vs $255 – making Matara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Matara

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:38 2:38 AM

16:08 4:08 PM

10 h 30 min behind Matara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Matara Playa del Carmen 16,770 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Matara
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 109%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $864 per month in Matara and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $179 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $576 in Matara and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Matara about 52% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $38 per month in Matara and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Matara, where all-in costs run around $576, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Matara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Matara. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.