Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melun and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,687 in Melun, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

82

Cost of Living Index in Melun
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Melun Living Index
59

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

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Melun

🇫🇷 France

$1,687

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,687 in Melun versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Melun $1,687
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,511 in Melun versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Melun $2,511
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,335 in Melun versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Melun $3,335
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Melun is roughly 40% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melun is 24% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.73 €11.32

$10.86 MX$201

17.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.1 €47.20

$44.21 MX$817

20.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.41 €11.93

$11.76 MX$217

14.03%

Cappuccino

$2.99 €2.66

$3.68 MX$68.0

-18.75%

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

$1.68 €1.50

$1.34 MX$24.79

25.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.82 MX$15.24

110.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.44 €6.62

$3.06 MX$56.6

143.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.63 €5.00

$4.94 MX$91.2

13.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.47 MX$27.17

-10.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.22 MX$40.95

-14.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 €2.54

$1.48 MX$27.32

93.24%

Eggs

$4.17 €3.70

$2.49 MX$45.99

67.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.19 €18.85

$7.52 MX$139

181.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.88 €11.46

$7.96 MX$147

61.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.95 €20.41

$12.57 MX$232

82.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 €2.94

$2.78 MX$51.3

19.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.12 €1.88

$1.43 MX$26.37

48.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.62 MX$48.37

-10.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.08 €2.74

$2.14 MX$39.49

43.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.02 MX$37.38

-9.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 €1.77

$1.99 MX$36.74

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.14 MX$21.01

55.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 €0.56

$1.20 MX$22.18

-47.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.92 €12.38

$4.26 MX$78.7

226.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 €7.29

$10.02 MX$185

-18.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 €2.19

$1.54 MX$28.41

59.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 €3.80

$2.66 MX$49.17

60.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 €1.73

$0.53 MX$9.73

267.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.25 €42.03

$27.51 MX$508

71.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 €1.97

$4.90 MX$90.6

-54.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 €1.92

$3.43 MX$63.5

-37.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.81 €21.18

$5.38 MX$99.4

342.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.45 MX$26.76

53.79%

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

$34.1K €30.3K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

61.09%

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

$34.3K €30.5K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

48.87%

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

$197 €176

$85.4 MX$1,577

131.14%

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

$15.10 €13.43

$23.46 MX$434

-35.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.14 €25.03

$28.43 MX$525

-1.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.17 €31.29

$62.2 MX$1,149

-43.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.87

$5.10 MX$94.3

95.49%

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

$623 €554

$201 MX$3,715

209.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,092 €7,197

$3,947 MX$72.9K

105.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.6 €77.0

$44.39 MX$820

95.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.76 €36.25

$41.35 MX$764

-1.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.1

$72.7 MX$1,344

42.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €90.4

$89.6 MX$1,656

13.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €660

$979 MX$18.1K

-24.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$561 €499

$373 MX$6,887

50.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 €1,061

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-29.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$883 €785

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-19.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,959 €3,522

$3,949 MX$73.0K

0.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,978 €2,649

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-51.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,499 €2,223

$738 MX$13.6K

238.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.92

11.45

-65.76%

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

Last update for Melun: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melun

$561 33.2%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 33.5% $188

Groceries & Markets

Melun

$372 22.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 30.6% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melun

$241 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 42.9% $103

Eating Out

Melun

$240 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 16.6% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Melun

$150 8.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 25.4% $38

Getting Around

Melun

$68 4%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 24.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Melun

$55 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 31.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Melun and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melun pays 239% 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: $53.0 in Melun vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Melun

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

23:48 11:48 PM

7 h behind Melun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,367

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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 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

Melun Playa del Carmen 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melun
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

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

Melun and Playa del Carmen differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,687 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 239% higher in Melun, 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: $742 in Melun versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,687 per month in Melun versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 72% less than in Melun. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,687 in Melun, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Melun. 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, Melun 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 40% less than in Melun. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.