Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monaghan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,382 in Monaghan, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Monaghan
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Monaghan Living Index
57

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

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Monaghan

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,382

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,382 in Monaghan versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Monaghan $2,382
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,362 in Monaghan versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Monaghan $3,362
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,343 in Monaghan versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Monaghan $4,343
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Monaghan is roughly 98% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monaghan is 76% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.47 €15.56

$10.67 MX$200

63.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.8 €51.4

$43.80 MX$823

31.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.33 €10.98

$11.79 MX$221

4.58%

Cappuccino

$4.02 €3.58

$3.79 MX$71.1

6.07%

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

$2.57 €2.28

$1.30 MX$24.36

97.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$0.83 MX$15.65

154.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.57 €5.85

$3.15 MX$59.1

108.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 €5.85

$4.93 MX$92.7

33.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.41 MX$26.46

14.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.20 MX$41.23

-4.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.47 MX$27.66

20.41%

Eggs

$4.32 €3.85

$2.50 MX$46.89

72.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 €8.76

$7.29 MX$137

34.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.13 €10.80

$7.95 MX$149

52.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.20 €11.75

$12.86 MX$242

2.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 €2.64

$2.90 MX$54.4

2.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.38 MX$25.98

60.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.49 MX$46.78

20.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.02 €3.58

$2.03 MX$38.12

98.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.02 MX$38.03

-7.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.90 MX$35.74

-20.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.14 MX$21.49

10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.24 MX$23.27

48.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 €17.90

$4.27 MX$80.2

370.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 €11.84

$9.81 MX$184

35.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 €2.90

$1.59 MX$29.78

105.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 €3.16

$2.75 MX$51.6

29.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 €2.24

$0.51 MX$9.67

394.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.06 €4.51

$4.76 MX$89.4

6.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$3.25 MX$61.0

-54.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.90 €33.74

$5.39 MX$101

603.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.63

$1.53 MX$28.70

20.26%

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

$38.3K €34.1K

$21.2K MX$398.4K

80.58%

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

$38.0K €33.8K

$23.3K MX$436.9K

63.33%

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

$241 €215

$83.5 MX$1,568

188.62%

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

$20.67 €18.40

$23.19 MX$435

-10.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 €45.53

$27.61 MX$519

85.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.6 €51.2

$56.4 MX$1,060

1.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

Cinema Ticket

$13.64 €12.15

$5.00 MX$93.9

172.80%

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

$1,019 €908

$207 MX$3,889

392.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,209 €4,638

$5,231 MX$98.2K

-0.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 €83.0

$43.45 MX$816

114.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 €36.94

$42.54 MX$799

-2.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 €81.5

$72.8 MX$1,367

25.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.0

$88.4 MX$1,660

19.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,275 €1,135

$995 MX$18.7K

28.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 €1,055

$382 MX$7,181

209.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,259 €2,012

$1,674 MX$31.4K

34.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,820 €1,620

$1,081 MX$20.3K

68.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,366 €2,997

$6,138 MX$115.3K

-45.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,993 €3,556

$832 MX$15.6K

379.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.81

11.45

-66.72%

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

Last update for Monaghan: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Monaghan

$1.2K 49.8%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 67.7% $803

Groceries & Markets

Monaghan

$337 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 23.7% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monaghan

$313 13.1%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 57.1% $178

Eating Out

Monaghan

$290 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 30.9% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Monaghan

$149 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 25.5% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Monaghan

$85 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 21.7% $18

Getting Around

Monaghan

$23 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 123% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,275 in Monaghan and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monaghan pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Monaghan vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $337 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Monaghan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:39 4:39 AM

23:39 11:39 PM

5 h behind Monaghan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,700

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monaghan Playa del Carmen 7,530 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Monaghan
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 50% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Monaghan is about 4.8 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: $1,275 in Monaghan versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Monaghan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,382 per month in Monaghan versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,382 in Monaghan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Monaghan. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Monaghan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.