Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mdina and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,080 in Mdina, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in Mdina
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Mdina Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Mdina

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,080

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,080 in Mdina versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Mdina $2,080
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,064 in Mdina versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Mdina $3,064
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,048 in Mdina versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Mdina $4,048
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Mdina is roughly 72% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mdina is 54% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.17 €17.05

$10.76 MX$199

78.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.3 €75.9

$43.03 MX$795

98.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.90

$11.79 MX$218

13.49%

Cappuccino

$2.78 €2.47

$3.87 MX$71.4

-28.17%

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

$3.15 €2.80

$1.37 MX$25.29

129.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.84 MX$15.44

159.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.42 €3.93

$3.10 MX$57.3

42.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 €4.50

$5.07 MX$93.6

-0.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.44 MX$26.55

-7.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 €1.21

$2.23 MX$41.23

-39.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.31 €3.83

$1.47 MX$27.17

193.20%

Eggs

$4.25 €3.78

$2.53 MX$46.71

67.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 €7.42

$7.30 MX$135

14.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.26 €9.13

$7.86 MX$145

30.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.48 €16.44

$12.79 MX$236

44.49%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 €3.60

$2.90 MX$53.6

39.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.78 €2.48

$1.44 MX$26.53

93.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 €3.23

$2.55 MX$47.07

42.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 €3.01

$2.06 MX$38.03

64.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$2.00 MX$36.97

21.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$2.01 MX$37.07

1.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.19 MX$22.02

90.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.26 MX$23.23

6.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.82 €6.06

$4.40 MX$81.4

55.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$9.59 MX$177

-14.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.59 MX$29.41

11.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 €2.10

$2.81 MX$51.9

-16.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 €2.27

$0.57 MX$10.47

347.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 €4.85

$4.98 MX$92.1

9.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$3.50 MX$64.6

-36.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.64 €23.70

$5.40 MX$99.8

393.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.47 MX$27.08

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

$37.6K €33.4K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

79.10%

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

$38.9K €34.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

62.63%

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

$104 €92.5

$84.2 MX$1,556

23.43%

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

$25.81 €22.96

$23.99 MX$443

7.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.04 €37.39

$29.02 MX$536

44.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.5 €62.7

$63.0 MX$1,164

11.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$9.90 €8.80

$4.94 MX$91.3

100.40%

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

$370 €329

$204 MX$3,763

81.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K €9,820

$3,941 MX$72.8K

180.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 €77.6

$43.60 MX$806

100.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.22 €35.78

$43.12 MX$797

-6.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.4 €87.5

$75.8 MX$1,400

29.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 €70.4

$88.6 MX$1,637

-10.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 €1,040

$1,008 MX$18.6K

16.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,045 €930

$374 MX$6,911

179.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,554 €1,383

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-9.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,544 €1,374

$1,106 MX$20.4K

39.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,557 €3,164

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-9.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,055 €2,717

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-50.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,467 €1,305

$754 MX$13.9K

94.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

11.45

-74.67%

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

Last update for Mdina: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mdina

$1K 50.3%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 64.2% $672

Groceries & Markets

Mdina

$328 15.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 21.2% $70

Eating Out

Mdina

$280 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 27.9% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mdina

$172 8.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 20.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Mdina

$137 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 17.7% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Mdina

$90 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 19.3% $17

Getting Around

Mdina

$27 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 96.9% $26

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,170 in Mdina and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mdina pays 94% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Mdina vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Mdina

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:52 5:52 PM

10:52 10:52 AM

7 h behind Mdina

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mdina Playa del Carmen 9,650 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mdina
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

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

Mdina and Playa del Carmen differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($2,080 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 94% higher in Mdina, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,170 in Mdina versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Mdina. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,080 per month in Mdina versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 72% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,080 in Mdina, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mdina. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Mdina and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Mdina. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.