Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Papua New Guinea and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,325 in Papua New Guinea, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Papua New Guinea outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Papua New Guinea
Learn more

Papua New Guinea Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,325

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Papua New Guinea is 6.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 9% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Papua New Guinea is 1.5% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 1.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.14 PGK 31.29

$10.97 MX$201

-34.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.69 PGK 196

$44.85 MX$823

-0.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 PGK 24.32

$11.92 MX$219

-53.44%

Cappuccino

$2.34 PGK 10.24

$3.80 MX$69.9

-38.42%

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

$0.76 PGK 3.33

$1.31 MX$24.08

-41.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PGK 2.86

$0.86 MX$15.72

-24.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 PGK 11.47

$3.21 MX$59.0

-18.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 PGK 16.90

$5.01 MX$92.0

-22.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 PGK 8.43

$1.46 MX$26.77

31.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 PGK 6.73

$2.33 MX$42.72

-34.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PGK 5.96

$1.44 MX$26.48

-5.56%

Eggs

$3.81 PGK 16.69

$2.46 MX$45.20

54.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.27 PGK 27.49

$7.70 MX$141

-18.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.00 PGK 26.29

$7.89 MX$145

-23.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.33 PGK 40.88

$12.80 MX$235

-27.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 PGK 17.56

$2.92 MX$53.6

37.33%

Banana (1kg)

$3.35 PGK 14.69

$1.42 MX$26.11

135.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.17 PGK 27.05

$2.57 MX$47.10

140.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.13 PGK 22.47

$2.14 MX$39.24

139.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.65 PGK 16.00

$1.95 MX$35.75

87.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 PGK 12.03

$1.94 MX$35.55

41.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.00 PGK 8.77

$1.15 MX$21.13

73.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 PGK 4.97

$1.22 MX$22.42

-6.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.37 PGK 27.94

$4.38 MX$80.3

45.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.54 PGK 46.21

$9.85 MX$181

7.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 PGK 11.29

$1.54 MX$28.23

67.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 PGK 16.03

$2.72 MX$49.86

34.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 PGK 1.87

$0.52 MX$9.64

-17.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.43 PGK 111

$27.42 MX$503

-7.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.95 PGK 21.70

$4.91 MX$90.2

0.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 PGK 9.78

$3.52 MX$64.7

-36.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.19 PGK 62.2

$5.69 MX$104

149.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 PGK 4.15

$1.54 MX$28.27

-38.31%

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

$28.7K PGK 125.6K

$21.2K MX$389.9K

34.98%

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

$22.7K PGK 99.6K

$24.5K MX$449.6K

-7.22%

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

$93.1 PGK 408

$83.6 MX$1,535

11.33%

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

$27.52 PGK 121

$24.03 MX$441

14.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$116 PGK 506

$29.33 MX$539

293.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.5 PGK 278

$64.9 MX$1,191

-2.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.15 PGK 106

$29.46 MX$541

-18.02%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 PGK 39.42

$5.09 MX$93.4

76.62%

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

$526 PGK 2,307

$208 MX$3,813

153.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,532 PGK 24.2K

$4,045 MX$74.3K

36.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.26 PGK 155

$44.55 MX$818

-20.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.74 PGK 135

$42.06 MX$772

-26.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.0 PGK 302

$75.5 MX$1,387

-8.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.3 PGK 404

$91.4 MX$1,678

1.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,597 PGK 6,998

$986 MX$18.1K

61.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$444 PGK 1,946

$385 MX$7,072

15.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,846 PGK 12.5K

$1,713 MX$31.5K

66.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 PGK 4,525

$1,108 MX$20.4K

-6.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,005 PGK 8,789

$4,016 MX$73.7K

-50.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,785 PGK 16.6K

$6,247 MX$114.7K

-39.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$418 PGK 1,833

$758 MX$13.9K

-44.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.67

11.45

19.39%

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

Last update for Papua New Guinea: October 3, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Papua New Guinea

$444 33.2%

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4% 13.2% $59

Groceries & Markets

Papua New Guinea

$302 22.6%

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2% 13.8% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Papua New Guinea

$236 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2% 42% $99

Eating Out

Papua New Guinea

$128 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6% 59% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Papua New Guinea

$102 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3% 11.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Papua New Guinea

$81 6.1%

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1% 7.9% $6.4

Getting Around

Papua New Guinea

$43 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2% 20.4% $8.8

Good to know

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:55 7:55 PM

04:55 4:55 AM

15 h behind Papua New Guinea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,935,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Kina (K)

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Papua New Guinea Playa del Carmen 14,090 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Papua New Guinea
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

Papua New Guinea vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Papua New Guinea and Playa del Carmen

MXN, USD, EUR to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Papua New Guinea

Playa del Carmen

Papua New Guinea

Playa del Carmen

Papua New Guinea vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar countries

🇲🇽 Mexico

🇭🇺 Hungary

🇦🇷 Argentina

🇨🇴 Colombia

🇯🇵 Japan

🇲🇪 Montenegro

🇦🇲 Armenia

🇰🇼 Kuwait