Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Neum and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Neum: $923 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Neum
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Neum Living Index
58

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

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Neum

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$923

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $923 in Neum versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Neum $923
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,388 in Neum versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Neum $1,388
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,852 in Neum versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Neum $1,852
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Neum costs roughly 23% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Neum 32% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.00 BAM 8.77

$10.92 MX$204

-54.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.00 BAM 54.4

$43.37 MX$808

-28.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.68 BAM 9.97

$11.78 MX$220

-51.78%

Cappuccino

$1.81 BAM 3.18

$3.81 MX$71.0

-52.49%

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

$1.94 BAM 3.41

$1.28 MX$23.90

51.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 BAM 2.19

$0.78 MX$14.59

60.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.60 BAM 4.56

$3.17 MX$59.0

-17.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 BAM 3.87

$4.93 MX$92.0

-55.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 BAM 2.04

$1.41 MX$26.22

-17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 BAM 1.58

$2.22 MX$41.33

-59.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.08 BAM 3.66

$1.42 MX$26.42

46.48%

Eggs

$2.59 BAM 4.55

$2.52 MX$47.03

2.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.55 BAM 13.25

$7.26 MX$135

3.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.08 BAM 12.44

$7.70 MX$143

-8.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.69 BAM 18.78

$12.69 MX$237

-15.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.10 BAM 1.93

$2.78 MX$51.9

-60.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 BAM 2.86

$1.37 MX$25.50

18.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.39 BAM 2.45

$2.55 MX$47.55

-45.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 BAM 2.03

$2.12 MX$39.58

-45.28%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 BAM 1.73

$1.94 MX$36.13

-49.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 BAM 1.74

$1.89 MX$35.16

-47.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 BAM 1.36

$1.15 MX$21.37

-33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 BAM 1.18

$1.18 MX$21.98

-43.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 BAM 6.80

$4.30 MX$80.1

-10.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.11 BAM 7.22

$9.95 MX$185

-58.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 BAM 1.39

$1.58 MX$29.52

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 BAM 1.56

$2.67 MX$49.79

-66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 BAM 2.09

$0.55 MX$10.31

116.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 BAM 99.6

$26.62 MX$496

113.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 BAM 3.07

$4.97 MX$92.6

-64.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 BAM 1.05

$3.33 MX$62.1

-81.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.80 BAM 10.19

$5.36 MX$99.8

8.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 BAM 2.74

$1.44 MX$26.92

8.33%

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

$29.8K BAM 52.4K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

44.27%

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

$21.4K BAM 37.5K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-8.93%

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

$135 BAM 237

$84.8 MX$1,581

59.41%

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

$17.71 BAM 31.10

$23.41 MX$436

-24.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.81 BAM 45.32

$28.66 MX$534

-9.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.44 BAM 58.7

$57.1 MX$1,063

-41.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.73 BAM 22.36

$28.91 MX$539

-55.97%

Cinema Ticket

$6.93 BAM 12.18

$5.14 MX$95.8

34.82%

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

$195 BAM 342

$207 MX$3,851

-5.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,298 BAM 4,035

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-41.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.5 BAM 101

$43.35 MX$808

32.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.40 BAM 56.9

$41.44 MX$772

-21.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.7 BAM 152

$74.2 MX$1,383

16.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 BAM 142

$89.3 MX$1,664

-9.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$311 BAM 546

$980 MX$18.3K

-68.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$220 BAM 387

$381 MX$7,099

-42.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 BAM 921

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-69.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$350 BAM 615

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-67.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,299 BAM 4,038

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-41.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,585 BAM 2,784

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-74.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$872 BAM 1,531

$735 MX$13.7K

18.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

11.45

-74.67%

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

Last update for Neum: October 26, 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

Neum

$220 23.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 72.8% $160

Groceries & Markets

Neum

$186 20.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 36.9% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Neum

$179 19.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 23.4% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Neum

$116 12.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 3.5% $4.1

Eating Out

Neum

$109 11.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 85.8% $93

Getting Around

Neum

$66 7.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 23.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Neum

$47 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 42.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $311 in Neum and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Neum pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Neum vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $186 vs $255 per month, with Neum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇦 Neum

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:50 10:50 PM

16:50 4:50 PM

6 h behind Neum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,200

149,923

💱 Currency

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BAM = 0.569 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BAM – Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark (KM)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 BAM (1 BAM = 0.569 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

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 BAM in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Neum Playa del Carmen 9,590 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Neum
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $923 in Neum and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Neum is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 19% higher in Neum, 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: $311 in Neum versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 53% less than in Neum. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $195 in Neum versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $923 in Neum versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Neum but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Neum 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.