Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Melbourne $2,849
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Melbourne $4,274
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Melbourne $5,699
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Melbourne is roughly 137% 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 is 109% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.87

$10.92 MX$205

60.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$43.37 MX$814

94.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.30

$11.78 MX$221

3.31%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$3.81 MX$71.5

6.82%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$1.28 MX$24.07

148.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.78 MX$14.70

220.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.60

$3.17 MX$59.5

201.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.73

$4.93 MX$92.7

67.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.41 MX$26.40

6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$2.22 MX$41.62

33.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.81

$1.42 MX$26.61

88.73%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.75

$2.52 MX$47.36

116.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.23

$7.26 MX$136

47.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.28

$7.70 MX$144

30.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.32

$12.69 MX$238

18.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.78

$2.78 MX$52.3

46.40%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.37 MX$25.68

129.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$2.55 MX$47.89

22.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.73

$2.12 MX$39.86

123.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.24

$1.94 MX$36.39

53.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.89 MX$35.41

31.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$1.15 MX$21.53

115.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$1.18 MX$22.13

35.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.5

$4.30 MX$80.6

938.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.02

$9.95 MX$187

27.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.88

$1.58 MX$29.73

251.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$2.67 MX$50.1

94.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.45

$0.55 MX$10.39

598.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$26.62 MX$500

421.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$4.97 MX$93.3

-12.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$3.33 MX$62.5

-58.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.25

$5.36 MX$101

454.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.44 MX$27.11

3.47%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

40.76%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

9.39%

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

$236 A$335

$84.8 MX$1,592

177.93%

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

$28.01 A$39.82

$23.41 MX$439

19.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.4

$28.66 MX$538

99.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$57.1 MX$1,071

-15.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.51

$28.91 MX$543

-25.77%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.11

$5.14 MX$96.5

243.77%

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

$2,461 A$3,498

$207 MX$3,878

1091.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

656.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$43.35 MX$814

87.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.0

$41.44 MX$778

18.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$74.2 MX$1,393

61.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$89.3 MX$1,676

46.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,420

$980 MX$18.4K

73.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,002

$381 MX$7,150

269.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,969

$1,708 MX$32.1K

104.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,591

$1,075 MX$20.2K

135.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

102.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,808

$6,158 MX$115.6K

12.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,051

$735 MX$13.8K

479.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.45

-48.47%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 73% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 34.1% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 57.4% $184

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 35.2% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 34.8% $60

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 69.5% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 19.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:13 12:13 PM

20:13 8:13 PM

16 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Playa del Carmen 14,690 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,849 in Melbourne and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Melbourne is about 5.8 times higher, 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: $1,703 in Melbourne versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,849 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.