Cost of Living Comparison Between May Pen and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between May Pen and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: May Pen is 46.7% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 49.6% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: May Pen is 45.2% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 55.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
-
$11.99 MX$227
-
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
-
$42.47 MX$803
-
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
-
$10.47 MX$198
-
Cappuccino
-
$3.6 MX$68.2
-
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$1.44 MX$27.16
-
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.89 MX$16.79
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$3.09 MX$58.5
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$4.58 MX$86.6
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.13 JMD 339
$1.38 MX$26.04
54.35%
White Bread (500g)
$3.67 JMD 585
$1.85 MX$34.9
98.38%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.22 JMD 512
$1.57 MX$29.68
105.10%
Eggs
$3.44 JMD 548
$2.55 MX$48.3
34.90%
Local Cheese (1kg)
-
$8.61 MX$163
-
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.33 JMD 1,167
$8.54 MX$161
-14.17%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.09 JMD 810
$10.98 MX$208
-53.64%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 JMD 247
$2.72 MX$51.4
-43.01%
Banana (1kg)
$4.91 JMD 782
$1.51 MX$28.57
225.17%
Oranges (1kg)
$6.23 JMD 991
$1.88 MX$35.63
231.38%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.9 JMD 303
$2.19 MX$41.42
-13.24%
Potato (1kg)
$1.92 JMD 306
$1.87 MX$35.3
2.67%
Onion (1kg)
$1.83 JMD 291
$2.19 MX$41.37
-16.44%
Lettuce (1 head)
$3.2 JMD 510
$1.07 MX$20.23
199.07%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$2.78 JMD 442
$1.09 MX$20.64
155.05%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
-
$3.96 MX$74.9
-
Wine (Bottle)
-
$8.86 MX$167
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.18 JMD 347
$1.72 MX$32.53
26.74%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.61 MX$49.37
-
🚌 Getting Around
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.88 JMD 140
$0.52 MX$9.74
69.23%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.59 MX$503
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
-
$3.24 MX$61.2
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
-
$2.38 MX$44.94
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$3.11 MX$58.7
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.34 JMD 214
$1.31 MX$24.85
2.29%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
-
$30.3K MX$573K
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
-
$24K MX$453.6K
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
-
$84.2 MX$1,592
-
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$41.99 JMD 6,684
$22.14 MX$419
89.66%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.75 JMD 6,328
$30.14 MX$570
31.88%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$52 MX$983
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.72 MX$354
-
Cinema Ticket
-
$5.07 MX$95.9
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$314 JMD 50K
$200 MX$3,787
56.92%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
-
$5,333 MX$100.8K
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$15.94 JMD 2,537
$35.74 MX$676
-55.40%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$22.22 JMD 3,537
$39.8 MX$753
-44.17%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$40.23 JMD 6,404
$79 MX$1,493
-49.06%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$53.5 JMD 8,511
$88.4 MX$1,671
-39.50%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$174 JMD 27.7K
$965 MX$18.3K
-82.00%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$221 JMD 35.3K
$474 MX$8,968
-53.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$559 JMD 89K
$1,653 MX$31.2K
-66.16%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$434 JMD 69K
$1,202 MX$22.7K
-63.92%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$3,081 MX$58.3K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$7,529 MX$142.3K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
May Pen
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$792 MX$15K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
0
11.42
-

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

Last update for May Pen: October 29, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

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