Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Aktau

For one person, living is cheaper in Aktau: $790 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Aktau
Learn more

Aktau Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Aktau

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $790 in Aktau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Aktau $790

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,315 in Aktau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Aktau $1,315

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,840 in Aktau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Aktau $1,840

Playa del Carmen costs about 53% more than Aktau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Aktau are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Aktau 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$11.03 ₸5,002

-1.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$43.54 ₸19.7K

-0.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.90 ₸4,492

18.99%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.59 ₸1,177

47.10%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.79 ₸356

62.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.49 ₸222

59.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.37 ₸620

131.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.59 ₸720

210.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.47 ₸669

-4.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.50 ₸228

344.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.90 ₸860

-25.26%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.69 ₸768

49.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$10.02 ₸4,543

-27.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.16 ₸1,885

85.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$8.58 ₸3,892

47.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.53 ₸693

81.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.32 ₸1,054

-40.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.34 ₸1,063

8.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.78 ₸1,262

-23.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.66 ₸301

193.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.57 ₸260

231.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.48 ₸673

-22.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.91 ₸413

29.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.59 ₸1,176

66.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.37 ₸4,249

6.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.78 ₸354

102.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$0.92 ₸417

190.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.16 ₸70.4

243.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.09 ₸496

355.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.64 ₸291

420.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.66 ₸301

118.18%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$31.4K ₸14.2M

-25.29%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$45.62 ₸20.7K

85.86%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$8.07 ₸3,662

190.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$10.70 ₸4,852

167.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$36.05 ₸16.4K

58.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$3.03 ₸1,373

69.64%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$146 ₸66.2K

41.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$2,678 ₸1.2M

46.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$67.3 ₸30.5K

-35.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$39.80 ₸18.1K

4.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$71.6 ₸32.5K

3.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$89.2 ₸40.5K

0.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$328 ₸149.0K

198.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$193 ₸87.8K

96.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$544 ₸246.7K

214.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$393 ₸178.2K

173.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$806 ₸365.8K

388.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$657 ₸297.9K

837.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$553 ₸250.8K

32.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-18.21%

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 Aktau: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Aktau

$193 24.5% 49.2% $187

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Aktau

$200 25.3% 21.5% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Aktau

$164 20.8% 18.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Aktau

$64 8.2% 52.9% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Aktau

$121 15.3% 7.9% $8.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Aktau

$42 5.3% 37.5% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Aktau

$4.9 * 0.6% 90.2% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $328 in Aktau. 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 33% 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $44 in Aktau. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $200 in Aktau – so Aktau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇿 Aktau

🕒 Local time

23:13 11:13 PM

09:13 9:13 AM

10 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

273,830

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.2 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, 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 = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 454 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.2 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Aktau 11,700 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Aktau

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 Aktau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 53% more than Aktau, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,185 in Aktau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aktau, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $328 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $790 in Aktau. That makes Aktau about 34% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Families tend to lean toward Aktau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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