Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pekanbaru and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Pekanbaru: $628 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
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Pekanbaru Living Index
59

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

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Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in Pekanbaru versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Pekanbaru $628
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $983 in Pekanbaru versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Pekanbaru $983
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,339 in Pekanbaru versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Pekanbaru $1,339
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Pekanbaru costs roughly 48% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pekanbaru 53% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

$10.76 MX$199

-86.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

$43.03 MX$795

-80.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$11.79 MX$218

-79.56%

Cappuccino

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$3.87 MX$71.4

-66.41%

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

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

$1.37 MX$25.29

-57.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 Rp 5,954

$0.84 MX$15.44

-60.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

$3.10 MX$57.3

-33.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

$5.07 MX$93.6

-31.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$1.44 MX$26.55

-9.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$2.23 MX$41.23

-48.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

$1.47 MX$27.17

-39.46%

Eggs

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

$2.53 MX$46.71

-33.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

$7.30 MX$135

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

$7.86 MX$145

-69.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

$12.79 MX$236

-49.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$2.90 MX$53.6

-6.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$1.44 MX$26.53

18.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$2.55 MX$47.07

-5.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$2.06 MX$38.03

-38.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

$2.00 MX$36.97

-38.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$2.01 MX$37.07

-4.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

$1.19 MX$22.02

-36.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 Rp 6,350

$1.26 MX$23.23

-72.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$4.40 MX$81.4

-50.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

$9.59 MX$177

123.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.59 MX$29.41

20.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

$2.81 MX$51.9

7.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,230

$0.57 MX$10.47

-49.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

$27.82 MX$514

-69.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

$4.98 MX$92.1

-81.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,154

$3.50 MX$64.6

-88.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

$5.40 MX$99.8

-50.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

$1.47 MX$27.08

-48.30%

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

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

10.90%

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

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

8.88%

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

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

$84.2 MX$1,556

-26.28%

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

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

$23.99 MX$443

-75.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

$29.02 MX$536

-18.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

$63.0 MX$1,164

-55.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

$29.14 MX$539

-71.48%

Cinema Ticket

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

$4.94 MX$91.3

-38.66%

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

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

$204 MX$3,763

-52.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

97.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

$43.60 MX$806

-26.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

$43.12 MX$797

-34.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

$75.8 MX$1,400

-27.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$88.6 MX$1,637

-8.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 Rp 4.7M

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-74.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$374 MX$6,911

-61.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 Rp 9.7M

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-68.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 Rp 6.4M

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-67.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-72.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$807 Rp 14.5M

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-86.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$176 Rp 3.2M

$754 MX$13.9K

-76.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

11.45

-17.38%

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

Last update for Pekanbaru: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pekanbaru

$201 32%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 28.7% $58

Accommodation & Living

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 158% $229

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 49.4% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Pekanbaru

$88 14%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 28.2% $25

Eating Out

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 267% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 112% $38

Getting Around

Pekanbaru

$13 2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 320% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Pekanbaru and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 329% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $8.00 in Pekanbaru vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $258 per month, with Pekanbaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:25 10:25 AM

22:25 10:25 PM

12 h behind Pekanbaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,020,308

149,923

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Pekanbaru Playa del Carmen 17,490 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Pekanbaru
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

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

Pekanbaru is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 93% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 329% 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: $262 in Pekanbaru versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Pekanbaru – a meal for two runs $8.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $628 per month in Pekanbaru versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 93% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in Pekanbaru versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pekanbaru but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Pekanbaru the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Pekanbaru is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Pekanbaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.