Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Moe and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,334 in Moe, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Moe
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Moe Living Index
58

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

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Moe

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,334

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,334 in Moe versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Moe $2,334
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,461 in Moe versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Moe $3,461
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,588 in Moe versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Moe $4,588
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Moe is roughly 94% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Moe is 71% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.15 A$20.20

$10.92 MX$203

29.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.5 A$112

$43.37 MX$805

81.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.06 A$14.37

$11.78 MX$219

-14.60%

Cappuccino

$3.76 A$5.36

$3.81 MX$70.7

-1.31%

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

$3.04 A$4.34

$1.28 MX$23.81

137.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 A$1.98

$0.78 MX$14.54

76.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.24 A$7.49

$3.17 MX$58.8

65.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.87 A$6.95

$4.93 MX$91.7

-1.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 A$1.15

$1.41 MX$26.12

-42.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 A$4.10

$2.22 MX$41.17

29.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 A$3.63

$1.42 MX$26.32

78.87%

Eggs

$3.45 A$4.93

$2.52 MX$46.85

36.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.39 A$14.84

$7.26 MX$135

43.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.15 A$11.63

$7.70 MX$143

5.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.14 A$21.62

$12.69 MX$236

19.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$2.78 MX$51.7

3.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.77 A$3.96

$1.37 MX$25.41

102.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 A$4.23

$2.55 MX$47.37

16.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.45 A$6.36

$2.12 MX$39.43

109.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 A$3.08

$1.94 MX$36.00

10.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.56 A$3.65

$1.89 MX$35.02

35.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.54

$1.15 MX$21.29

115.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 A$2.03

$1.18 MX$21.89

20.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$31.23 A$44.59

$4.30 MX$79.8

626.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.11

$9.95 MX$185

27.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 A$5.07

$1.58 MX$29.41

124.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 A$4.93

$2.67 MX$49.60

29.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.69 A$3.84

$0.55 MX$10.28

389.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.9 A$121

$26.62 MX$494

219.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.34 A$3.34

$4.97 MX$92.3

-52.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.02

$3.33 MX$61.9

-57.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.61 A$35.15

$5.36 MX$99.5

359.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 A$1.68

$1.44 MX$26.82

-18.06%

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

$29.4K A$42.0K

$20.7K MX$383.8K

42.32%

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

$26.3K A$37.6K

$23.5K MX$435.8K

12.25%

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

$157 A$224

$84.8 MX$1,575

85.23%

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

$27.69 A$39.55

$23.41 MX$435

18.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.9 A$82.7

$28.66 MX$532

101.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.3 A$79.0

$57.1 MX$1,059

-3.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.68 A$22.40

$28.91 MX$537

-45.76%

Cinema Ticket

$17.64 A$25.20

$5.14 MX$95.4

243.19%

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

$2,451 A$3,500

$207 MX$3,836

1086.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.1K A$42.9K

$3,927 MX$72.9K

665.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.8 A$117

$43.35 MX$805

88.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.33 A$70.5

$41.44 MX$770

19.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$171

$74.2 MX$1,378

61.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$189

$89.3 MX$1,657

48.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,229 A$1,755

$980 MX$18.2K

25.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,149 A$1,641

$381 MX$7,072

201.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,492 A$3,558

$1,708 MX$31.7K

45.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 A$2,701

$1,075 MX$20.0K

75.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,872 A$8,386

$3,943 MX$73.2K

48.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,018 A$7,166

$6,158 MX$114.4K

-18.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,411 A$2,016

$735 MX$13.6K

92.15%

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 Moe: October 24, 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

Moe

$1.1K 49.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 66.9% $768

Groceries & Markets

Moe

$332 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 23.2% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Moe

$243 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 43.6% $106

Eating Out

Moe

$242 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 16.4% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Moe

$173 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 35.3% $61

Getting Around

Moe

$105 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 52% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Moe

$91 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 25.7% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,229 in Moe and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Moe pays 92% 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: $79 in Moe vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Moe

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

05:24 5:24 AM

16 h behind Moe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,700

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.7 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.7 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Moe Playa del Carmen 14,570 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Moe
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Moe. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Moe, 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: $1,229 in Moe versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Moe. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $79 in Moe. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,334 in Moe, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Moe. 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 48% less than in Moe. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.