Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Picton and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Picton: $1,020 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

49

Cost of Living Index in Picton
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Picton Living Index
58

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

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Picton

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,020

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,020 in Picton versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Picton $1,020
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,686 in Picton versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Picton $1,686
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,353 in Picton versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Picton $2,353
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Picton costs roughly 15% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Picton 25% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.64 CA$24.76

$10.92 MX$204

61.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.0 CA$99.6

$43.37 MX$808

63.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.88 CA$13.86

$11.78 MX$220

-16.13%

Cappuccino

$3.49 CA$4.90

$3.81 MX$71.0

-8.40%

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

$2.06 CA$2.89

$1.28 MX$23.90

60.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 CA$2.36

$0.78 MX$14.59

115.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.67 CA$7.96

$3.17 MX$59.0

78.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.77 CA$8.10

$4.93 MX$92.0

17.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 CA$2.35

$1.41 MX$26.22

18.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.99 CA$2.80

$2.22 MX$41.33

-10.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 CA$3.19

$1.42 MX$26.42

59.86%

Eggs

$2.92 CA$4.10

$2.52 MX$47.03

15.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 CA$12.82

$7.26 MX$135

25.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.72 CA$16.45

$7.70 MX$143

52.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.94 CA$20.96

$12.69 MX$237

17.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 CA$3.84

$2.78 MX$51.9

-1.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 CA$1.67

$1.37 MX$25.50

-13.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 CA$4.87

$2.55 MX$47.55

36.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 CA$5.63

$2.12 MX$39.58

89.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 CA$2.56

$1.94 MX$36.13

-5.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 CA$2.34

$1.89 MX$35.16

-11.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 CA$3.25

$1.15 MX$21.37

100.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 CA$1.69

$1.18 MX$21.98

1.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.71 CA$19.24

$4.30 MX$80.1

218.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.97 CA$19.60

$9.95 MX$185

40.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 CA$2.94

$1.58 MX$29.52

32.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 CA$3.43

$2.67 MX$49.79

-8.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.19 CA$3.08

$0.55 MX$10.31

298.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.77 CA$27.74

$26.62 MX$496

-25.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.96 CA$4.15

$4.97 MX$92.6

-40.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 CA$1.79

$3.33 MX$62.1

-61.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.77 CA$30.56

$5.36 MX$99.8

306.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.58

$1.44 MX$26.92

-21.53%

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

$26.1K CA$36.6K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

26.21%

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

$21.6K CA$30.3K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-7.94%

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

$125 CA$176

$84.8 MX$1,581

47.53%

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

$28.11 CA$39.45

$23.41 MX$436

20.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.12 CA$68.9

$28.66 MX$534

71.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.10 CA$59.1

$57.1 MX$1,063

-26.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$8.80 CA$12.34

$5.14 MX$95.8

71.21%

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

$283 CA$397

$207 MX$3,851

36.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K CA$33.1K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

500.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.98 CA$70.2

$43.35 MX$808

15.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.89 CA$50.4

$41.44 MX$772

-13.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 CA$119

$74.2 MX$1,383

14.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 CA$176

$89.3 MX$1,664

40.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 CA$1,439

$980 MX$18.3K

4.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,642 CA$2,304

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-3.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,772 CA$5,294

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-4.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,151 CA$4,422

$735 MX$13.7K

329.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.45

11.45

-61.14%

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

Last update for Picton: October 25, 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

Picton

$319 31.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 20.1% $64

Eating Out

Picton

$268 26.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 24.4% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Picton

$202 19.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 32.4% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Picton

$133 13.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 16.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Picton

$60 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 12.8% $7.6

Getting Around

Picton

$38 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 33.2% $13

Accommodation & Living

Picton

- * 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

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Picton and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Picton pays about 4.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $71 in Picton vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $319 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Picton

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:14 6:14 PM

17:14 5:14 PM

1 h behind Picton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,702

149,923

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Picton Playa del Carmen 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Picton
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,020 in Picton and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Picton is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Picton is about 4.3 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: $1,025 in Picton versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $71 in Picton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,020 per month in Picton versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Picton is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Picton gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.