Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palanga and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Palanga: $915 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Palanga
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Palanga Living Index
58

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

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Palanga

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$915

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $915 per month in Palanga vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Palanga $915
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,488 per month in Palanga vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Palanga $1,488
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,062 per month in Palanga vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Palanga $2,062
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Palanga is about 24% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Palanga and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Palanga 33% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.10 €10.84

$10.92 MX$205

10.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €61.1

$43.37 MX$815

57.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.78 €6.97

$11.78 MX$221

-33.96%

Cappuccino

$3.42 €3.06

$3.81 MX$71.6

-10.24%

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

$2.63 €2.36

$1.28 MX$24.10

105.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 €2.52

$0.78 MX$14.71

261.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 €5.03

$3.17 MX$59.5

77.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.17 €4.64

$4.93 MX$92.7

4.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.41 MX$26.43

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 €1.54

$2.22 MX$41.66

-22.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 €1.60

$1.42 MX$26.64

25.35%

Eggs

$3.06 €2.74

$2.52 MX$47.41

21.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.04 €8.99

$7.26 MX$137

38.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.08 €6.35

$7.70 MX$145

-8.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.35 €11.06

$12.69 MX$239

-2.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 €1.43

$2.78 MX$52.3

-42.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.37 MX$25.71

10.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 €1.47

$2.55 MX$47.94

-35.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 €2.75

$2.12 MX$39.90

44.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 €0.70

$1.94 MX$36.43

-59.79%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 €0.80

$1.89 MX$35.44

-52.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.15 MX$21.55

26.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.72

$1.18 MX$22.16

-31.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.80 €5.20

$4.30 MX$80.7

34.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.54 €7.66

$9.95 MX$187

-14.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.58 MX$29.76

8.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.89

$2.67 MX$50.2

-20.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.22 €29.77

$26.62 MX$500

24.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 €1.02

$4.97 MX$93.4

-77.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.88 €0.79

$3.33 MX$62.6

-73.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.39 €12.00

$5.36 MX$101

149.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.62

$1.44 MX$27.14

25.00%

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

$26.8K €24.0K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

29.82%

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

$27.6K €24.8K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

17.72%

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

$201 €180

$84.8 MX$1,594

136.82%

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

$15.18 €13.61

$23.41 MX$440

-35.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.38 €12.89

$28.66 MX$539

-49.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$8.76 €7.85

$5.14 MX$96.6

70.43%

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

$509 €456

$207 MX$3,882

146.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,777 €7,865

$3,927 MX$73.8K

123.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.0 €75.3

$43.35 MX$815

93.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.20 €36.03

$41.44 MX$779

-2.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.7 €72.3

$74.2 MX$1,394

8.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$162 €146

$89.3 MX$1,677

82.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,928 €4,416

$3,943 MX$74.1K

24.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,930 €2,625

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-52.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,461 €1,310

$735 MX$13.8K

98.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

11.45

-64.63%

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

Last update for Palanga: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Palanga

$242 26.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 5.4% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palanga

$230 25.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 40.6% $94

Eating Out

Palanga

$221 24.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 8.6% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Palanga

$165 18.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 32.4% $54

Getting Around

Palanga

$39 * 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 30.2% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Palanga

$18 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 284% $50

Accommodation & Living

Palanga

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 99% higher in Palanga, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Palanga versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $242 in Palanga vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Palanga wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇱🇹 Palanga

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:56 3:56 AM

20:56 8:56 PM

7 h behind Palanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,732

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Palanga Playa del Carmen 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Palanga
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $915 in Palanga, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Palanga comes out roughly 24% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,373 per month in Palanga and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $915 in Palanga and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Palanga about 24% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 20% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Palanga, where all-in costs run around $915, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Palanga it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $915 in Palanga to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.