Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne, AR and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,395 in Melbourne, AR, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne, AR
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Melbourne, AR Living Index
59

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

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Melbourne, AR

🇺🇸 United States

$2,395

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,395 in Melbourne, AR versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Melbourne, AR $2,395
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,533 in Melbourne, AR versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Melbourne, AR $3,533
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,672 in Melbourne, AR versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Melbourne, AR $4,672
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Melbourne, AR is roughly 98% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne, AR is 77% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.80 $6.80

$10.76 MX$199

-36.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.6 $77.6

$43.03 MX$795

80.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.33 $9.33

$11.79 MX$218

-20.87%

Cappuccino

$5.78 $5.78

$3.87 MX$71.4

49.35%

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

$1.96 $1.96

$1.37 MX$25.29

43.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 $1.68

$0.84 MX$15.44

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.92 $5.92

$3.10 MX$57.3

90.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 $6.96

$5.07 MX$93.6

37.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.44 MX$26.55

-38.89%

White Bread (500g)

$3.80 $3.80

$2.23 MX$41.23

70.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.82 $5.82

$1.47 MX$27.17

295.92%

Eggs

$5.33 $5.33

$2.53 MX$46.71

110.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 $8.15

$7.30 MX$135

11.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 $8.37

$7.86 MX$145

6.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.40 $13.40

$12.79 MX$236

4.77%

Apples (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$2.90 MX$53.6

54.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 $1.48

$1.44 MX$26.53

2.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 $2.83

$2.55 MX$47.07

10.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.80 $4.80

$2.06 MX$38.03

133.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 $1.92

$2.00 MX$36.97

-4.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.46 $2.46

$2.01 MX$37.07

22.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.19 MX$22.02

22.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.26 MX$23.23

61.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.86 $8.86

$4.40 MX$81.4

101.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.94 $18.94

$9.59 MX$177

97.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.61 $2.61

$1.59 MX$29.41

64.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 $4.51

$2.81 MX$51.9

60.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.09 $2.09

$0.57 MX$10.47

266.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.96 $2.96

$4.98 MX$92.1

-40.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 $1.65

$3.50 MX$64.6

-52.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.45 $32.45

$5.40 MX$99.8

500.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.47 MX$27.08

-33.33%

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

$36.6K $36.6K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

74.61%

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

$26.5K $26.5K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

10.68%

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

$176 $176

$84.2 MX$1,556

109.42%

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

$55.8 $55.8

$23.99 MX$443

132.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.4 $63.4

$29.02 MX$536

118.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.88 $41.88

$63.0 MX$1,164

-33.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$9.91 $9.91

$4.94 MX$91.3

100.61%

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

$1,075 $1,075

$204 MX$3,763

427.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.1K $21.1K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

436.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.3 $59.3

$43.60 MX$806

36.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 $50.6

$43.12 MX$797

17.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 $114

$75.8 MX$1,400

50.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$88.6 MX$1,637

27.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 $1,598

$1,008 MX$18.6K

58.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,291 $1,291

$374 MX$6,911

245.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,289 $2,289

$1,708 MX$31.6K

33.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,205 $2,205

$1,106 MX$20.4K

99.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,938 $2,938

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-25.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 $2,284

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-62.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.77

11.45

-40.87%

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

Last update for Melbourne, AR: 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

Melbourne, AR

$1.3K 53.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 71% $917

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne, AR

$365 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 29.3% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne, AR

$296 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 53.6% $158

Eating Out

Melbourne, AR

$210 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 3.6% $7.6

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne, AR

$152 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 25.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne, AR

$62 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 18.1% $11

Getting Around

Melbourne, AR

$20 * 0.8%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 169% $33

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 $1,598 in Melbourne, AR and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $78.0 in Melbourne, AR vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $365 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Melbourne, AR

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

Same time as Melbourne, AR

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,068

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne, AR Playa del Carmen 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne, AR
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

Melbourne, AR vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 98% lower than in Melbourne, AR. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,592 in Melbourne, AR and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,598 in Melbourne, AR versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,075 in Melbourne, AR versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $78.0 in Melbourne, AR. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,395 in Melbourne, AR, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Melbourne, AR. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Melbourne, AR 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 98% less than in Melbourne, AR. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.