Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alajuela Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alajuela

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 35.9% cheaper than Alajuela without rent, and 20.9% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 27% cheaper than Alajuela without rent, and 2.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 MX$212

$10.11 ₡4,940

14.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42 MX$769

$40.49 ₡19.8K

3.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.5 MX$192

$9.4 ₡4,592

11.70%

Cappuccino

$3.43 MX$62.8

$3.67 ₡1,794

-6.54%

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

$1.49 MX$27.34

$2 ₡977

-25.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.27

$1.33 ₡652

-29.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$56.3

$2.17 ₡1,061

41.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 MX$79.9

$3.63 ₡1,774

20.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$25.44

$1.94 ₡947

-28.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$33.81

$2.43 ₡1,188

-23.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.88

$2.14 ₡1,043

-26.17%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46

$2.23 ₡1,087

12.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.26 MX$151

$9.85 ₡4,810

-16.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.7 MX$159

$9.06 ₡4,428

-3.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.73 MX$196

$13.63 ₡6,661

-21.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$47.74

$3.97 ₡1,939

-34.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.28

$1.47 ₡718

1.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.72

$4.17 ₡2,035

-53.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 MX$38.26

$2.86 ₡1,398

-26.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.05

$2.89 ₡1,412

-37.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.62

$2.65 ₡1,294

-18.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 MX$18.85

$1.03 ₡502

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.7

$2.51 ₡1,227

-56.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 MX$75.9

$4.87 ₡2,379

-14.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.88 MX$163

$17.96 ₡8,775

-50.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 MX$30.64

$2.18 ₡1,063

-23.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 MX$46.31

$2.56 ₡1,250

-1.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.27

$0.88 ₡432

-42.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.68 MX$488

$111 ₡54K

-75.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$59.7

$1.39 ₡679

134.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.51 MX$45.94

$1.3 ₡633

93.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 MX$57.2

$7.86 ₡3,839

-60.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.96

$1.42 ₡693

-7.75%

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

$30.9K MX$565K

$37.5K ₡18.3M

-17.78%

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

$23.9K MX$436.9K

$32.2K ₡15.7M

-25.85%

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

$83 MX$1,520

$45 ₡22K

84.49%

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

$22.59 MX$414

$20.03 ₡9,787

12.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.51 MX$540

$32.28 ₡15.8K

-8.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 MX$944

$65.4 ₡31.9K

-21.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 MX$337

$43.3 ₡21.2K

-57.46%

Cinema Ticket

$4.9 MX$89.7

$9 ₡4,396

-45.56%

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

$200 MX$3,668

$298 ₡145.4K

-32.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,179 MX$94.8K

$2,377 ₡1.2M

117.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.41 MX$667

$62 ₡30.3K

-41.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.91 MX$731

$51.6 ₡25.2K

-22.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MX$1,462

$121 ₡58.9K

-33.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 MX$1,605

$98.4 ₡48.1K

-10.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MX$18K

$699 ₡341.5K

40.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,612

$605 ₡295.7K

-22.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 MX$29.5K

$1,003 ₡490K

60.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 MX$21.8K

$926 ₡452.6K

28.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,839 MX$70.3K

$2,058 ₡1M

86.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,205 MX$113.6K

$1,523 ₡744.2K

307.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$724 MX$13.2K

$1,207 ₡589.7K

-40.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

10.17

12.29%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 30, 2025

Last update for Alajuela: November 30, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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