Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mons and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,885 in Mons, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Mons
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Mons Living Index
58

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

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Mons

🇧🇪 Belgium

$1,885

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,885 in Mons versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Mons $1,885
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,806 in Mons versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Mons $2,806
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,727 in Mons versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Mons $3,727
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Mons is roughly 57% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mons is 39% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.72 €14.99

$10.92 MX$205

53.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 €73.0

$43.37 MX$815

87.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.17 €9.12

$11.78 MX$221

-13.67%

Cappuccino

$2.41 €2.16

$3.81 MX$71.6

-36.75%

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

$2.76 €2.47

$1.28 MX$24.10

115.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.52

$0.78 MX$14.71

117.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 €3.40

$3.17 MX$59.5

19.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 €3.78

$4.93 MX$92.7

-14.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.41 MX$26.43

-17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 €2.03

$2.22 MX$41.66

2.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.42 MX$26.64

54.93%

Eggs

$4.04 €3.62

$2.52 MX$47.41

60.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.56 €16.63

$7.26 MX$137

155.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.30 €11.02

$7.70 MX$145

59.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.58 €17.54

$12.69 MX$239

54.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 €2.49

$2.78 MX$52.3

Banana (1kg)

$2.46 €2.21

$1.37 MX$25.71

79.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.55 MX$47.94

-0.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.95 €2.64

$2.12 MX$39.90

39.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.94 MX$36.43

12.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.89 MX$35.44

-36.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 €1.23

$1.15 MX$21.55

19.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.18 MX$22.16

-10.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.96 €8.92

$4.30 MX$80.7

131.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.50 €4.93

$9.95 MX$187

-44.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.58 MX$29.76

19.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 €1.72

$2.67 MX$50.2

-28.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.03 €2.72

$0.55 MX$10.40

450.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.1 €49.33

$26.62 MX$500

106.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.24 €10.07

$4.97 MX$93.4

126.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.33 MX$62.6

-10.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$51.7 €46.35

$5.36 MX$101

865.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.44 MX$27.14

26.39%

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

$35.7K €32.0K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

72.72%

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

$36.6K €32.8K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

55.83%

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

$224 €201

$84.8 MX$1,594

164.55%

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

$21.11 €18.91

$23.41 MX$440

-9.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.18 €42.28

$28.66 MX$539

64.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.73 €23.96

$57.1 MX$1,072

-53.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.86 €15.10

$28.91 MX$543

-41.68%

Cinema Ticket

$12.24 €10.96

$5.14 MX$96.6

138.13%

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

$556 €498

$207 MX$3,882

169.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.3K €19.1K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

443.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 €96.0

$43.35 MX$815

147.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.16 €41.37

$41.44 MX$779

11.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 €97.8

$74.2 MX$1,394

47.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$145 €130

$89.3 MX$1,677

61.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$683 €612

$980 MX$18.4K

-30.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$686 €615

$381 MX$7,157

80.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 €949

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-37.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$998 €894

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-7.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,164 €3,731

$3,943 MX$74.1K

5.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,879 €2,580

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-53.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,819 €2,526

$735 MX$13.8K

283.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.2

11.45

-72.05%

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

Last update for Mons: 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

Mons

$686 36.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 44.5% $305

Groceries & Markets

Mons

$340 18%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 25.1% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mons

$293 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 53.2% $156

Eating Out

Mons

$238 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 15.1% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Mons

$183 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 39% $71

Getting Around

Mons

$93 5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 46% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Mons

$51 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 31.5% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $683 in Mons and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mons pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $81 in Mons vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $340 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Mons

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

00:07 12:07 AM

6 h behind Mons

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,721

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mons Playa del Carmen 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mons
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 36% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Mons is about 3.8 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: $683 in Mons versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,885 per month in Mons versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 52% less than in Mons. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,885 in Mons, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mons. 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, Mons on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.