Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alberton

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Alberton: $1,204 and $1,206 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Alberton
Learn more

Alberton Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Alberton

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,206 in Alberton.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Alberton $1,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,989 in Alberton.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Alberton $1,989

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,772 in Alberton.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Alberton $2,772

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Alberton; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Alberton 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$8.78 R 147

24.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$36.42 R 608

19.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.92 R 82.1

139.43%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.27 R 37.96

67.84%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.02 R 17.02

25.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.83 R 13.91

-6.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.38 R 39.66

33.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.46 R 41.13

100.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.20 R 20.03

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.12 R 18.76

98.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.83 R 30.53

-22.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.31 R 38.55

9.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.41 R 140

-13.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.83 R 80.6

59.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$6.04 R 101

110.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.77 R 29.47

57.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.59 R 26.49

-13.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.79 R 29.80

42.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.62 R 27.11

30.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.07 R 17.91

81.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.17 R 19.46

61.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.16 R 19.31

-0.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.93 R 15.45

26.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.16 R 52.7

36.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$3.10 R 51.7

220.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.27 R 21.19

24.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.32 R 21.97

102.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$3.09 R 51.6

-82.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$120 R 1,998

-77.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.29 R 4.80

1613.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.76 R 12.62

338.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$14.46 R 241

-62.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.40 R 23.38

2.86%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$30.1K R 502.3K

-31.32%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$33.2K R 553.7K

-29.25%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$151 R 2,522

-43.87%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$36.94 R 617

-36.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$36.25 R 605

-20.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$40.04 R 668

42.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$14.90 R 249

94.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.99 R 99.9

-14.19%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$151 R 2,526

36.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$1,775 R 29.6K

121.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$53.3 R 889

-18.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$31.64 R 528

30.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$93.5 R 1,560

-20.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$83.9 R 1,400

6.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$428 R 7,143

128.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$361 R 6,032

5.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$915 R 15.3K

86.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$980 R 16.4K

9.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$726 R 12.1K

443.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$597 R 9,968

931.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,097 R 35.0K

-64.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.34

0.97%

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 Alberton: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Alberton

$361 30% 5.1% $19

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Alberton

$177 14.7% 30.4% $77

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Alberton

$137 11.3% 32.5% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Alberton

$224 18.6% 63.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Alberton

$118 9.8% 5.6% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Alberton

$52 4.3% 22.7% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Alberton

$136 11.3% 170% $86

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $428 in Alberton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alberton pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $36 in Alberton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $177 per month, with Alberton cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Alberton

🕒 Local time

22:25 10:25 PM

05:25 5:25 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

121,536

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alberton 13,440 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alberton

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 Alberton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 65% 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 $428 in Alberton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $151 in Alberton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Alberton – a meal for two runs $36 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Alberton on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.