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 47.9% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 49.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: May Pen is 43.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 55.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$209

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$744

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$190

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$61.3

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

$1.45 MX$25.65

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.93

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$53.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$77.9

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 JMD 347

$1.37 MX$24.17

62.04%

White Bread (500g)

$3.67 JMD 575

$1.87 MX$33.05

96.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 JMD 502

$1.54 MX$27.25

108.44%

Eggs

$3.35 JMD 525

$2.50 MX$44.18

34.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$152

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.38 JMD 1,155

$8.63 MX$152

-14.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.96 JMD 776

$11.02 MX$195

-54.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 248

$2.75 MX$48.53

-42.18%

Banana (1kg)

$5.06 JMD 792

$1.43 MX$25.21

253.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.09 JMD 952

$1.87 MX$33.05

225.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 JMD 302

$2.17 MX$38.26

-11.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 JMD 289

$1.88 MX$33.23

-1.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 JMD 296

$2.25 MX$39.65

-16.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.07 JMD 480

$1.07 MX$18.85

186.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 JMD 453

$1.07 MX$18.95

170.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$73.3

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$182

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.14 JMD 334

$1.68 MX$29.64

27.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$43.84

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 JMD 135

$0.55 MX$9.80

56.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$468

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$56.8

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$43.80

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$54.9

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 JMD 219

$1.26 MX$22.16

11.11%

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

$30.7K MX$541.1K

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

$24.0K MX$424.3K

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

$82.5 MX$1,456

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

$43.27 JMD 6,768

$22.29 MX$393

94.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.02 JMD 6,104

$30.02 MX$530

29.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$908

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$323

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$88.0

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

$317 JMD 49.5K

$200 MX$3,530

58.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$93.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.60 JMD 2,440

$35.71 MX$630

-56.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.10 JMD 3,458

$39.56 MX$698

-44.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$40.43 JMD 6,324

$80.6 MX$1,422

-49.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.8 JMD 8,414

$88.3 MX$1,559

-39.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$178 JMD 27.8K

$969 MX$17.1K

-81.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$216 JMD 33.9K

$482 MX$8,511

-55.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$560 JMD 87.5K

$1,595 MX$28.2K

-64.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$430 JMD 67.3K

$1,184 MX$20.9K

-63.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$71.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

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

Last update for May Pen: March 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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