Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Abidjan

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Abidjan: $1,215 and $1,222 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Abidjan
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Abidjan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Abidjan

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Abidjan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Abidjan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,222 in Abidjan.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Abidjan $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,144 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,090 in Abidjan.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Abidjan $2,090

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,072 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,957 in Abidjan.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Abidjan $2,957

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 1% less than in Abidjan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 9% lower, Abidjan 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$2.59 F CFA 1,513

323.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$67.8 F CFA 39.7K

-33.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$10.46 F CFA 6,119

13.96%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$1.85 F CFA 1,080

105.41%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$0.72 F CFA 419

81.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$0.76 F CFA 447

13.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$1.04 F CFA 610

208.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$1.66 F CFA 971

201.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$2.10 F CFA 1,230

-30.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$0.49 F CFA 289

375.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$1.14 F CFA 667

26.32%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$2.29 F CFA 1,340

7.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$25.21 F CFA 14.8K

-69.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$5.73 F CFA 3,351

37.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$6.00 F CFA 3,511

113.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$3.91 F CFA 2,287

-25.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$1.04 F CFA 608

36.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$2.09 F CFA 1,222

22.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$2.39 F CFA 1,397

-10.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$1.76 F CFA 1,032

10.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$1.59 F CFA 932

22.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$0.59 F CFA 345

94.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$0.86 F CFA 502

41.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$1.75 F CFA 1,022

150.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$5.22 F CFA 3,052

88.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.06 F CFA 618

45.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$1.16 F CFA 679

134.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$0.92 F CFA 536

-43.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$42.81 F CFA 25.0K

-35.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$1.67 F CFA 977

194.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$1.72 F CFA 1,008

104.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$25.89 F CFA 15.1K

-78.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.51 F CFA 884

1.99%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$28.1K F CFA 16.5M

-24.53%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$27.0K F CFA 15.8M

-9.43%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$163 F CFA 95.5K

-48.76%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$24.63 F CFA 14.4K

-2.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$35.38 F CFA 20.7K

-17.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$70.0 F CFA 41.0K

-7.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$21.29 F CFA 12.5K

38.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$8.65 F CFA 5,062

-41.16%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$367 F CFA 214.8K

-43.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$4,608 F CFA 2.7M

-12.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$91.0 F CFA 53.2K

-51.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$36.71 F CFA 21.5K

14.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$76.2 F CFA 44.6K

-0.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$137 F CFA 80.3K

-33.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$679 F CFA 397.3K

45.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$342 F CFA 200.2K

12.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$2,604 F CFA 1.5M

-34.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$1,010 F CFA 590.9K

9.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$2,189 F CFA 1.3M

83.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$675 F CFA 395.2K

824.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$215 F CFA 126.1K

251.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

15.75

-27.30%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Abidjan: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Abidjan

$342 28.6% 11.1% $43

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Abidjan

$247 20.6% 5% $13

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Abidjan

$89 7.4% 56.5% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Abidjan

$223 18.6% 62.9% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Abidjan

$154 12.8% 34.6% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Abidjan

$87 7.3% 16.4% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Abidjan

$57 4.7% 9.1% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $986 in Playa del Carmen and $679 in Abidjan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 252% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $68.0 in Abidjan. Groceries flip the comparison at $260 vs $247, with Abidjan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇮 Abidjan

🕒 Local time

10:08 10:08 AM

15:08 3:08 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,567,409

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Abidjan 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Abidjan

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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 252% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $679 in Abidjan. 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 $45.00 versus $68.0 in Abidjan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,222 in Abidjan – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,222 in Abidjan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Abidjan. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Abidjan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.