Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Acapulco

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $859 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Acapulco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $859 in Acapulco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Acapulco $859

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,435 in Acapulco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Acapulco $1,435

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,012 in Acapulco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Acapulco $2,012

Playa del Carmen costs about 41% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Acapulco are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Acapulco 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$9.48 MX$175

13.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$37.64 MX$696

14.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.97 MX$221

-1.50%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.76 MX$69.5

2.93%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.63 MX$30.10

-15.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.66 MX$30.65

-49.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.00 MX$55.4

3.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.79 MX$88.4

5.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.59 MX$29.36

-9.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.89 MX$53.5

-22.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.68 MX$31.11

-12.50%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.79 MX$33.06

41.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$6.64 MX$123

9.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$8.04 MX$149

-2.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$10.78 MX$199

18.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$4.58 MX$84.7

-36.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.65 MX$30.46

-12.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.38 MX$62.5

-24.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.13 MX$57.9

-34.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$3.47 MX$64.2

-42.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.96 MX$54.7

-32.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.31 MX$24.12

-9.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.78 MX$14.46

61.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$8.16 MX$151

-46.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$6.66 MX$123

43.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.12 MX$20.74

41.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.70 MX$49.94

4.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.88 MX$16.27

-35.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.85 MX$89.6

2.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.47 MX$27.16

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$21.1K MX$389.7K

-0.50%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$24.8K MX$458.4K

-3.62%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$39.89 MX$737

111.11%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$14.81 MX$274

61.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$21.72 MX$401

33.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$19.02 MX$351

231.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$13.85 MX$256

110.40%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$3.87 MX$71.6

27.65%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$162 MX$2,994

25.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$64.4 MX$1,191

-32.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$44.58 MX$824

-3.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$107 MX$1,985

-29.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$83.2 MX$1,538

6.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$519 MX$9,593

94.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$150 MX$2,763

150.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$956 MX$17.7K

78.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$331 MX$6,118

234.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$449 MX$8,293

68.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.6

-1.29%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Acapulco: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Acapulco

$150 17.4% 60% $225

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Acapulco

$269 31.3% 3.9% $10

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Acapulco

$195 22.7% 3.8% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Acapulco

$76 8.9% 44.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Acapulco

$135 15.7% 19.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Acapulco

$27 3.1% 63.3% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1% 84.1% $44

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $519 in Acapulco. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 68% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $38.00 in Acapulco. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $269 in Acapulco – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

658,609

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Playa del Carmen Acapulco 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
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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 Acapulco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 41% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,288 in Acapulco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $859 in Acapulco. That's a gap of about 41%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $162 in Acapulco. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Acapulco, where all-in costs run around $859, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Acapulco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Acapulco costs $859 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Acapulco. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.