Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matera and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,484 in Matera, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Matera
Learn more

Matera Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Matera

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,484

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,484 per month in Matera vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Matera $1,484
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,356 per month in Matera vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Matera $2,356
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,227 per month in Matera vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Matera $3,227
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Matera costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Matera sits 9% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.29 €13.70

$10.92 MX$205

40.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 €54.3

$43.37 MX$814

39.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.34 €10.16

$11.78 MX$221

-3.74%

Cappuccino

$1.88 €1.68

$3.81 MX$71.5

-50.66%

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

$2.27 €2.03

$1.28 MX$24.07

77.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.78 MX$14.70

39.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.14

$3.17 MX$59.5

81.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.93 MX$92.7

-32.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 €1.41

$1.41 MX$26.40

12.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 €1.54

$2.22 MX$41.62

-22.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.28 €2.94

$1.42 MX$26.61

130.99%

Eggs

$3.52 €3.15

$2.52 MX$47.36

39.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.39 €13.79

$7.26 MX$136

111.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.28 €11.00

$7.70 MX$144

59.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.84 €18.67

$12.69 MX$238

64.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 €2.36

$2.78 MX$52.3

-5.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.94

$1.37 MX$25.68

57.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.13 €1.01

$2.55 MX$47.89

-55.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 €3.41

$2.12 MX$39.86

79.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 €1.60

$1.94 MX$36.39

-8.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.89 MX$35.41

-13.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.15 MX$21.53

26.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 €0.42

$1.18 MX$22.13

-60.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.75 €6.05

$4.30 MX$80.6

56.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.34 €5.68

$9.95 MX$187

-36.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.58 MX$29.73

16.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 €2.79

$2.67 MX$50.1

16.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.72 €1.54

$0.55 MX$10.39

212.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.20 €18.09

$26.62 MX$500

-24.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.43 €3.96

$4.97 MX$93.3

-10.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 €1.07

$3.33 MX$62.5

-64.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.74 €21.26

$5.36 MX$101

342.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.44 MX$27.11

40.28%

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

$35.1K €31.5K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

69.96%

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

$37.3K €33.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

59.16%

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

$197 €177

$84.8 MX$1,592

132.89%

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

$9.37 €8.39

$23.41 MX$439

-59.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 €27.53

$28.66 MX$538

7.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.3 €49.56

$57.1 MX$1,071

-3.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.43 €20.98

$28.91 MX$543

-18.96%

Cinema Ticket

$9.94 €8.90

$5.14 MX$96.5

93.39%

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

$448 €401

$207 MX$3,878

116.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 €7,092

$3,927 MX$73.7K

101.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.2 €60.2

$43.35 MX$814

55.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.87 €38.39

$41.44 MX$778

3.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €94.3

$74.2 MX$1,393

41.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 €121

$89.3 MX$1,676

51.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 €632

$980 MX$18.4K

-27.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$421 €377

$381 MX$7,150

10.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 €918

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-40.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$841 €753

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-21.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,772 €2,483

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-29.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,179 €2,847

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-48.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,750 €1,568

$735 MX$13.8K

138.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.08

11.45

-73.10%

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

Last update for Matera: October 24, 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

Matera

$421 28.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 9.5% $40

Groceries & Markets

Matera

$328 22.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 22.4% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matera

$238 16%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 42.4% $101

Eating Out

Matera

$228 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 11.1% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Matera

$158 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 29.1% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Matera

$75 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 10.5% $7.9

Getting Around

Matera

$37 2.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 34.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $705 in Matera 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 Matera are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Matera versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $328 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Matera

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

6 h behind Matera

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

59,607

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Matera Playa del Carmen 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Matera
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

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

Matera costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,227 per month in Matera 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 Matera, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $705 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 24% less in Matera. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $448 per month in Matera and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,484 in Matera. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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