Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Plymouth and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,820 in New Plymouth, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
Learn more

New Plymouth Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,820

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,820 in New Plymouth versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

New Plymouth $1,820
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in New Plymouth versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

New Plymouth $2,828
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,836 in New Plymouth versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

New Plymouth $3,836
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in New Plymouth is roughly 51% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: New Plymouth is 34% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.43 NZ$22.09

$10.92 MX$205

13.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.9 NZ$121

$43.37 MX$815

56.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.44 NZ$14.99

$11.78 MX$221

-28.35%

Cappuccino

$3.34 NZ$5.94

$3.81 MX$71.6

-12.34%

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

$2.12 NZ$3.77

$1.28 MX$24.10

65.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 NZ$3.28

$0.78 MX$14.71

137.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.32 NZ$9.46

$3.17 MX$59.5

67.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.65 NZ$10.04

$4.93 MX$92.7

14.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 NZ$2.56

$1.41 MX$26.43

2.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NZ$2.22

$2.22 MX$41.66

-43.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 NZ$2.92

$1.42 MX$26.64

16.20%

Eggs

$5.53 NZ$9.83

$2.52 MX$47.41

119.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.52 NZ$9.80

$7.26 MX$137

-23.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.19 NZ$12.78

$7.70 MX$145

-6.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.42 NZ$20.31

$12.69 MX$239

-10.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 NZ$4.67

$2.78 MX$52.3

-5.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 NZ$3.30

$1.37 MX$25.71

35.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 NZ$5.21

$2.55 MX$47.94

14.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.12 NZ$10.87

$2.12 MX$39.90

188.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 NZ$3.53

$1.94 MX$36.43

2.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 NZ$2.51

$1.89 MX$35.44

-25.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.88 NZ$3.34

$1.15 MX$21.55

63.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 NZ$2.35

$1.18 MX$22.16

11.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.12 NZ$41.09

$4.30 MX$80.7

437.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.73 NZ$15.53

$9.95 MX$187

-12.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 NZ$5.38

$1.58 MX$29.76

91.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.78 NZ$6.73

$2.67 MX$50.2

41.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.68 NZ$2.99

$0.55 MX$10.40

205.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.6 NZ$133

$26.62 MX$500

180.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.68 NZ$6.54

$4.97 MX$93.4

-25.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 NZ$2.97

$1.44 MX$27.14

15.97%

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

$28.7K NZ$51.0K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

38.75%

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

$22.8K NZ$40.5K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-2.88%

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

$130 NZ$231

$84.8 MX$1,594

53.14%

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

$27.85 NZ$49.50

$23.41 MX$440

18.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.35 NZ$86.0

$28.66 MX$539

68.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.29 NZ$77.0

$57.1 MX$1,072

-24.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$8.20 NZ$14.57

$5.14 MX$96.6

59.53%

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

$680 NZ$1,208

$207 MX$3,882

228.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K NZ$41.0K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

487.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.3 NZ$109

$43.35 MX$815

41.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 NZ$68.9

$41.44 MX$779

-6.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 NZ$161

$74.2 MX$1,394

22.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NZ$188

$89.3 MX$1,677

18.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 NZ$1,613

$980 MX$18.4K

-7.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 NZ$1,487

$381 MX$7,157

119.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,740 NZ$3,093

$1,708 MX$32.1K

1.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 NZ$2,824

$1,075 MX$20.2K

47.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,209 NZ$5,704

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-18.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 NZ$4,661

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-57.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,787 NZ$4,954

$735 MX$13.8K

279.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.93

11.45

-48.21%

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

Last update for New Plymouth: 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

New Plymouth

$836 45.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 54.5% $456

Groceries & Markets

New Plymouth

$281 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 9.4% $26

Eating Out

New Plymouth

$219 12%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 7.4% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Plymouth

$206 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 33.6% $69

Clothing & Footwear

New Plymouth

$133 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 16.3% $22

Getting Around

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 40.7% $35

Sport & Entertainment

New Plymouth

$60 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 12.8% $7.6

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 $907 in New Plymouth and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $68 in New Plymouth vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $281 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:13 2:13 PM

20:13 8:13 PM

18 h behind New Plymouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,400

149,923

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

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 NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

New Plymouth Playa del Carmen 12,180 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

New Plymouth
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,820 in New Plymouth and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in New Plymouth 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: $907 in New Plymouth 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 64% less than in New Plymouth. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $680 in New Plymouth versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,820 in New Plymouth, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in New Plymouth. 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, New Plymouth on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.