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 43.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 49.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: May Pen is 40.8% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 56.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 JMD 347

$1.39 MX$24.54

58.27%

White Bread (500g)

$3.85 JMD 607

$1.90 MX$33.47

102.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.20 JMD 504

$1.60 MX$28.27

100.00%

Eggs

$3.45 JMD 543

$2.60 MX$45.97

32.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.56 JMD 1,192

$8.64 MX$152

-12.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.90 JMD 773

$10.91 MX$192

-55.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.60 JMD 253

$2.61 MX$45.98

-38.70%

Banana (1kg)

$4.92 JMD 776

$1.44 MX$25.46

241.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.36 JMD 1,003

$1.96 MX$34.55

224.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 JMD 304

$2.12 MX$37.34

-8.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 JMD 299

$1.86 MX$32.87

2.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 JMD 300

$2.22 MX$39.20

-14.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.17 JMD 500

$1.02 MX$17.99

210.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 JMD 441

$1.04 MX$18.36

169.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.15 JMD 339

$1.69 MX$29.79

27.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 JMD 131

$0.51 MX$9.09

62.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 JMD 212

$1.32 MX$23.36

1.52%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

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

$42.86 JMD 6,758

$22.86 MX$404

87.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.64 JMD 6,250

$30.04 MX$530

31.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

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

$310 JMD 48.9K

$201 MX$3,541

54.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.88 JMD 2,503

$35.73 MX$631

-55.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.82 JMD 3,441

$40.27 MX$711

-45.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$41.41 JMD 6,528

$79.2 MX$1,398

-47.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.8 JMD 8,320

$89.3 MX$1,576

-40.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$172 JMD 27.1K

$947 MX$16.7K

-81.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$220 JMD 34.7K

$483 MX$8,525

-54.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$558 JMD 87.9K

$1,599 MX$28.2K

-65.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$443 JMD 69.9K

$1,211 MX$21.4K

-63.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

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: January 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 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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