Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Akranes

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,713 in Akranes, rent and utilities included – about $30,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
179

Cost of Living Index in Akranes
Learn more

Akranes Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Akranes

🇮🇸 Iceland

$3,713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,713 in Akranes.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Akranes $3,713

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,859 in Akranes.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Akranes $5,859

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $8,006 in Akranes.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Akranes $8,006

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 68% less than in Akranes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Akranes is 173% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$31.70 ISK 3,848

-65.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$123 ISK 15.0K

-64.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$26.72 ISK 3,243

-55.91%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$6.01 ISK 730

-36.61%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$3.19 ISK 388

-59.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$2.51 ISK 304

-68.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$10.69 ISK 1,298

-70.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$8.10 ISK 984

-39.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.10 ISK 255

-32.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.04 ISK 248

8.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.71 ISK 451

-61.73%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$6.26 ISK 760

-59.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$20.35 ISK 2,470

-64.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$24.72 ISK 3,001

-68.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$42.16 ISK 5,119

-69.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.30 ISK 400

-15.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.72 ISK 330

-49.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.23 ISK 392

-21.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$4.89 ISK 593

-56.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.82 ISK 463

-49.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.71 ISK 207

10.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$3.65 ISK 443

-68.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.81 ISK 220

-34.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$13.90 ISK 1,687

-69.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$23.57 ISK 2,862

-57.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.88 ISK 350

-45.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.07 ISK 251

28.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$3.61 ISK 439

-84.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$72.3 ISK 8,778

-63.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$6.55 ISK 795

-24.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.25 ISK 152

166.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$81.9 ISK 9,944

-93.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.08 ISK 252

-30.77%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$67.8K ISK 8.2M

-69.53%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$54.6K ISK 6.6M

-56.99%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$96.4 ISK 11.7K

-12.02%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$33.29 ISK 4,041

-29.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$85.0 ISK 10.3K

-66.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$104 ISK 12.6K

-45.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$19.29 ISK 2,342

-73.35%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$1,205 ISK 146.3K

-82.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$26.1K ISK 3.2M

-84.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$150 ISK 18.2K

-71.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$67.1 ISK 8,147

-38.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$179 ISK 21.7K

-58.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$246 ISK 29.8K

-63.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$3,064 ISK 372.0K

-68.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$1,889 ISK 229.3K

-79.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$5,013 ISK 608.6K

-65.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$3,654 ISK 443.6K

-70.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$5,704 ISK 692.5K

-87.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.81

29.97%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Akranes: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Akranes

$1.9K 50.9% 396% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Akranes

$579 15.6% 127% $325

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Akranes

$498 13.4% 146% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Akranes

$215 5.8% 56.9% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Akranes

$289 7.8% 159% $177

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Akranes

$143 3.9% 112% $75

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Akranes

$100 2.7% 97.4% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $3,064 in Akranes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Akranes pays about 7.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $123 in Akranes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $579 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇸 Akranes

🕒 Local time

03:07 3:07 AM

08:07 8:07 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ISK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 121 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD). 1 EUR = 135 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.38 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Akranes 6,750 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Akranes

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 Akranes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 68% lower than in Akranes. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,064 in Akranes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $3,713 in Akranes – Playa del Carmen is about 68% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 63% less than in Akranes. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,713 in Akranes, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Akranes. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Akranes. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.