Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Messina and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,379 in Messina, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Messina
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Messina Living Index
58

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

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Messina

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,379

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,379 per month in Messina vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Messina $1,379
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,392 per month in Messina vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Messina $2,392
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,404 per month in Messina vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Messina $3,404
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Messina costs about 15% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.90 €15.18

$10.92 MX$204

54.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.9

$43.37 MX$808

56.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.41 €11.15

$11.78 MX$220

5.35%

Cappuccino

$1.97 €1.77

$3.81 MX$71.0

-48.29%

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

$2.36 €2.12

$1.28 MX$23.90

84.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.07

$0.78 MX$14.59

52.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.55 €4.09

$3.17 MX$59.0

43.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 €2.99

$4.93 MX$92.0

-32.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.17

$1.41 MX$26.22

-7.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 €1.65

$2.22 MX$41.33

-17.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.74 €2.46

$1.42 MX$26.42

92.96%

Eggs

$2.89 €2.59

$2.52 MX$47.03

14.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.49 €13.01

$7.26 MX$135

99.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.55 €9.47

$7.70 MX$143

37.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.82 €15.11

$12.69 MX$237

32.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 €2.62

$2.78 MX$51.9

4.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.37 MX$25.50

20.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 €1.03

$2.55 MX$47.55

-55.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.12 MX$39.58

60.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 €0.58

$1.94 MX$36.13

-66.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.89 MX$35.16

-19.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.15 MX$21.37

23.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 €0.36

$1.18 MX$21.98

-66.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$4.30 MX$80.1

59.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.75 €5.16

$9.95 MX$185

-42.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 €1.50

$1.58 MX$29.52

5.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 €2.08

$2.67 MX$49.79

-13.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 €1.48

$0.55 MX$10.31

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.21 €37.02

$26.62 MX$496

54.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.72 €5.14

$4.97 MX$92.6

15.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 €1.03

$3.33 MX$62.1

-65.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.73 €34.79

$5.36 MX$99.8

622.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 €1.84

$1.44 MX$26.92

42.36%

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

$34.9K €31.4K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

69.08%

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

$31.2K €28.1K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

33.08%

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

$178 €160

$84.8 MX$1,581

109.61%

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

$10.17 €9.14

$23.41 MX$436

-56.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.62 €23.01

$28.66 MX$534

-10.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.70 €41.95

$57.1 MX$1,063

-18.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.57 €14.89

$28.91 MX$539

-42.68%

Cinema Ticket

$9.57 €8.60

$5.14 MX$95.8

86.19%

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

$337 €302

$207 MX$3,851

63.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,512 €4,951

$3,927 MX$73.2K

40.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.2 €64.0

$43.35 MX$808

64.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.95 €27.80

$41.44 MX$772

-25.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.9 €78.0

$74.2 MX$1,383

17.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €113

$89.3 MX$1,664

40.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$522 €469

$980 MX$18.3K

-46.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 €335

$381 MX$7,099

-2.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,199 €1,077

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-29.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 €984

$1,075 MX$20.0K

1.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,011 €1,806

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-49.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,655 €1,487

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-73.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,675 €1,505

$735 MX$13.7K

128.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.39

11.45

-70.39%

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

Last update for Messina: October 25, 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

Messina

$373 27.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 2.1% $7.7

Groceries & Markets

Messina

$287 20.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 11.1% $32

Eating Out

Messina

$240 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 15.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Messina

$214 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 35.9% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Messina

$142 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 21.1% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Messina

$66 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 2.2% $1.5

Getting Around

Messina

$59 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 14.8% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $522 in Messina versus $980 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.

Salaries in Messina are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Messina versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $287 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Messina

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:05 7:05 PM

13:05 1:05 PM

6 h behind Messina

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,734

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Messina Playa del Carmen 9,640 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Messina
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

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

Messina costs about 15% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,069 per month in Messina and $1,806 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 Messina, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $522 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $337 per month in Messina and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 12% more in Messina, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,379 in Messina. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Messina makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.