Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mercedes and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,285 in Mercedes, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Mercedes
Learn more

Mercedes Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Mercedes

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,285

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,285 per month in Mercedes vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Mercedes $1,285
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,968 per month in Mercedes vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Mercedes $1,968
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,650 per month in Mercedes vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Mercedes $2,650
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Mercedes costs about 7% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Mercedes and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Mercedes 5% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.66 UYU 630

$10.67 MX$200

46.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 UYU 2,537

$43.80 MX$823

44.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.04 UYU 565

$11.79 MX$221

19.08%

Cappuccino

$2.53 UYU 102

$3.79 MX$71.1

-33.25%

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

$2.51 UYU 101

$1.30 MX$24.36

93.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 UYU 35.19

$0.83 MX$15.65

6.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 UYU 99.2

$3.15 MX$59.1

-21.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.79 UYU 153

$4.93 MX$92.7

-23.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 UYU 50.2

$1.41 MX$26.46

-11.35%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 UYU 121

$2.20 MX$41.23

37.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 UYU 57.5

$1.47 MX$27.66

-2.72%

Eggs

$2.80 UYU 112

$2.50 MX$46.89

12.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.35 UYU 577

$7.29 MX$137

96.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.51 UYU 463

$7.95 MX$149

44.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.40 UYU 298

$12.86 MX$242

-42.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 UYU 81.0

$2.90 MX$54.4

-30.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 UYU 97.3

$1.38 MX$25.98

75.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 UYU 45.87

$2.49 MX$46.78

-54.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.92 UYU 117

$2.03 MX$38.12

43.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 UYU 77.0

$2.02 MX$38.03

-5.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 UYU 87.4

$1.90 MX$35.74

14.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 UYU 56.1

$1.14 MX$21.49

21.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 UYU 68.8

$1.24 MX$23.27

37.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.87 UYU 196

$4.27 MX$80.2

14.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.29 UYU 334

$9.81 MX$184

-15.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 UYU 93.8

$1.59 MX$29.78

46.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 UYU 112

$2.75 MX$51.6

0.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 UYU 74.0

$4.76 MX$89.4

-61.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 UYU 42.50

$3.25 MX$61.0

-67.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.77 UYU 514

$5.39 MX$101

136.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.24 UYU 90.0

$1.53 MX$28.70

46.41%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$21.2K MX$398.4K

25.88%

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

$36.9K UYU 1.5M

$23.3K MX$436.9K

58.70%

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

$183 UYU 7,380

$83.5 MX$1,568

119.77%

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

$21.33 UYU 858

$23.19 MX$435

-8.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.14 UYU 1,735

$27.61 MX$519

56.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

Cinema Ticket

$12.07 UYU 485

$5.00 MX$93.9

141.40%

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

$632 UYU 25.4K

$207 MX$3,889

205.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K UYU 450.8K

$5,231 MX$98.2K

114.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.0 UYU 3,981

$43.45 MX$816

127.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 UYU 2,295

$42.54 MX$799

34.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 UYU 4,834

$72.8 MX$1,367

65.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,242

$88.4 MX$1,660

47.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$582 UYU 23.4K

$995 MX$18.7K

-41.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$295 UYU 11.9K

$382 MX$7,181

-22.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$627 UYU 25.2K

$1,674 MX$31.4K

-62.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$452 UYU 18.2K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-58.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,050 UYU 122.7K

$3,909 MX$73.4K

-21.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,968 UYU 79.2K

$6,138 MX$115.3K

-67.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.65

11.45

-50.66%

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

Last update for Mercedes: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mercedes

$296 23%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 13.1% $39

Accommodation & Living

Mercedes

$295 23%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 29.4% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mercedes

$248 19.3%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 45.8% $114

Eating Out

Mercedes

$231 18%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 13.4% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Mercedes

$183 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 39.2% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Mercedes

$24 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 175% $42

Getting Around

Mercedes

$7.1 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 609% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $582 in Mercedes versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Mercedes versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $296 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Mercedes

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

09:59 9:59 AM

2 h behind Mercedes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,975

149,923

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.21 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 40.22 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.17 UYU (100 UYU = 2.21 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mercedes Playa del Carmen 6,740 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mercedes
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

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

Mercedes costs about 7% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,928 per month in Mercedes and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mercedes, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $582 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Mercedes and $44 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 15% more in Mercedes, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,285 in Mercedes and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,285 in Mercedes. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.