Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alcala de Guadaira

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,567 in Alcala de Guadaira, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Alcala de Guadaira
Learn more

Alcala de Guadaira Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Alcala de Guadaira

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Alcala de Guadaira

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 Alcala de Guadaira actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,567 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Alcala de Guadaira $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,323 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Alcala de Guadaira $2,323

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,079 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Alcala de Guadaira $3,079

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 23% less than in Alcala de Guadaira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Alcala de Guadaira is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$13.70 €12.19

-21.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$55.3 €49.16

-22.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.14 €8.13

28.99%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.88 €1.67

105.85%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.12 €1.89

-35.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.53 €1.36

-45.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.05 €2.71

1.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.45 €3.07

46.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.11 €0.99

29.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.63 €1.45

36.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.37 €1.22

7.30%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.31 €2.95

-23.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$13.61 €12.10

-46.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$8.52 €7.58

-7.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$15.77 €14.03

-18.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.45 €2.18

18.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.09 €1.85

-31.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.86 €1.65

37.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.48 €2.21

-16.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.79 €1.60

11.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.06 €1.83

-2.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.45 €1.29

-17.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.73 €0.65

72.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.50 €5.78

-32.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.87 €5.22

63.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.15 €1.02

38.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.94 €1.73

44.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.61 €1.43

-64.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$32.47 €28.89

-14.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.69 €1.50

194.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.07 €0.95

227.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$13.36 €11.89

-59.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.75 €1.56

-16.00%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$36.0K €32.0K

-41.70%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$28.9K €25.7K

-17.40%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$116 €103

-27.57%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$16.02 €14.25

49.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$28.91 €25.71

0.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$45.05 €40.07

39.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$15.81 €14.06

84.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.89 €7.02

-37.39%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$543 €483

-62.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$8,094 €7,199

-51.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$90.8 €80.8

-51.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$39.00 €34.69

10.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$93.6 €83.3

-19.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$116 €103

-23.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$894 €795

12.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$683 €608

-45.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,345 €1,196

27.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,021 €908

8.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,304 €2,939

19.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,229 €1,983

176.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.34

242.81%

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 Alcala de Guadaira: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Alcala de Guadaira

$683 43.6% 82.7% $309

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Alcala de Guadaira

$267 17% 3.3% $8.5

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Alcala de Guadaira

$196 12.5% 2.9% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Alcala de Guadaira

$161 10.3% 17.5% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Alcala de Guadaira

$153 9.7% 35% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Alcala de Guadaira

$61 3.9% 16.5% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Alcala de Guadaira

$46 2.9% 12.6% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $894 in Alcala de Guadaira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $55.0 in Alcala de Guadaira for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $267 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Alcala de Guadaira

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

17:15 5:15 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

76,547

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alcala de Guadaira 7,880 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alcala de Guadaira

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 Alcala de Guadaira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Alcala de Guadaira differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $1,567 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,816 in Playa del Carmen and $2,351 in Alcala de Guadaira to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $894 in Alcala de Guadaira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Alcala de Guadaira. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $55.0 in Alcala de Guadaira. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,567 in Alcala de Guadaira, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Alcala de Guadaira. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Alcala de Guadaira are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Alcala de Guadaira. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.