Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palma Soriano and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,565 in Palma Soriano, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Palma Soriano outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Palma Soriano
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Palma Soriano Living Index
59

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

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Palma Soriano

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,565

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,565 in Palma Soriano versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Palma Soriano $1,565
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,874 in Palma Soriano versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Palma Soriano $1,874
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,183 in Palma Soriano versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Palma Soriano $2,183
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Palma Soriano is roughly 30% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Palma Soriano is 16% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.86 CUP 117

$10.86 MX$201

-55.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.89 CUP 597

$44.21 MX$817

-43.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.88 CUP 117

$11.76 MX$217

-58.50%

Cappuccino

$3.16 CUP 75.7

$3.68 MX$68.0

-14.13%

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

$1.26 CUP 30.25

$1.34 MX$24.79

-5.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 CUP 21.27

$0.82 MX$15.24

8.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 CUP 73.7

$3.06 MX$56.6

0.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 CUP 59.3

$4.94 MX$91.2

-50.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.03 CUP 48.71

$1.47 MX$27.17

38.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 CUP 35.25

$2.22 MX$40.95

-33.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 CUP 24.31

$1.48 MX$27.32

-31.76%

Eggs

$1.22 CUP 29.17

$2.49 MX$45.99

-51.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.83 CUP 140

$7.52 MX$139

-22.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.08 CUP 146

$7.96 MX$147

-23.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.21 CUP 269

$12.57 MX$232

-10.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.88 CUP 45.07

$2.78 MX$51.3

-32.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 CUP 28.55

$1.43 MX$26.37

-16.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 CUP 34.96

$2.62 MX$48.37

-44.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 CUP 36.71

$2.14 MX$39.49

-28.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 CUP 23.29

$2.02 MX$37.38

-51.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 CUP 23.69

$1.99 MX$36.74

-50.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 CUP 24.52

$1.14 MX$21.01

-10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 CUP 26.84

$1.20 MX$22.18

-6.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.97 CUP 71.3

$4.26 MX$78.7

-30.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.01 CUP 240

$10.02 MX$185

-0.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 CUP 72.8

$1.54 MX$28.41

96.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 CUP 47.48

$2.66 MX$49.17

-25.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 CUP 5.72

$0.53 MX$9.73

-54.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.36 CUP 729

$27.51 MX$508

10.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 CUP 44.14

$4.90 MX$90.6

-62.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 CUP 8.05

$3.43 MX$63.5

-90.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.16 CUP 316

$5.38 MX$99.4

144.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 CUP 28.34

$1.45 MX$26.76

-18.62%

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

$65.4K CUP 1.6M

$21.2K MX$391.0K

209.10%

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

$46.5K CUP 1.1M

$23.0K MX$425.3K

102.18%

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

$55.8 CUP 1,340

$85.4 MX$1,577

-34.61%

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

$9.81 CUP 235

$23.46 MX$434

-58.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$145 CUP 3,484

$28.43 MX$525

410.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.02 CUP 961

$62.2 MX$1,149

-35.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.83 CUP 236

$28.68 MX$530

-65.73%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 CUP 24.49

$5.10 MX$94.3

-80.00%

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

$100 CUP 2,403

$201 MX$3,715

-50.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K CUP 283.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

199.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.2 CUP 1,565

$44.39 MX$820

46.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.94 CUP 838

$41.35 MX$764

-15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.5 CUP 2,051

$72.7 MX$1,344

17.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 CUP 2,660

$89.6 MX$1,656

23.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$875 CUP 21.0K

$979 MX$18.1K

-10.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 CUP 19.4K

$373 MX$6,887

116.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$757 CUP 18.2K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-54.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$656 CUP 15.7K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-40.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$322 CUP 7,725

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-91.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$324 CUP 7,785

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-94.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$39.94 CUP 959

$738 MX$13.6K

-94.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.33

11.45

-27.25%

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

Last update for Palma Soriano: October 18, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Palma Soriano

$807 51.6%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 53.8% $434

Groceries & Markets

Palma Soriano

$217 13.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 19.1% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palma Soriano

$211 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 34.9% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Palma Soriano

$133 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 16.3% $22

Eating Out

Palma Soriano

$120 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 66.5% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Palma Soriano

$42 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 72.1% $30

Getting Around

Palma Soriano

$35 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 48.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $875 in Palma Soriano and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 1747% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Palma Soriano vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $258 per month, with Palma Soriano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Palma Soriano

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:52 4:52 AM

03:52 3:52 AM

1 h behind Palma Soriano

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,930

149,923

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Palma Soriano Playa del Carmen 1,160 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Palma Soriano
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Palma Soriano. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 1747% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $875 in Palma Soriano versus $979 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 10% less than in Palma Soriano. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $100 in Palma Soriano versus $201 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 $1,565 in Palma Soriano, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Palma Soriano. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Palma Soriano. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.