Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alcala la Real

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,570 in Alcala la Real, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Alcala la Real
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Alcala la Real Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Alcala la Real

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,570

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Alcala la Real

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,570 in Alcala la Real.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Alcala la Real $1,570

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,345 in Alcala la Real.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Alcala la Real $2,345

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,120 in Alcala la Real.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Alcala la Real $3,120

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Alcala la Real is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$13.35 €11.99

-18.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$66.1 €59.4

-34.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$8.95 €8.04

31.62%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$1.87 €1.68

103.74%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$2.05 €1.84

-37.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$1.55 €1.39

-49.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$2.97 €2.67

6.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$3.30 €2.97

49.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$1.14 €1.02

23.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$1.61 €1.45

37.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$1.56 €1.40

-8.97%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$3.38 €3.03

-25.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$13.61 €12.23

-46.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$8.31 €7.47

-7.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$16.36 €14.70

-22.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$2.33 €2.09

19.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.98 €1.78

-30.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$1.80 €1.62

41.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$2.56 €2.30

-17.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$1.80 €1.62

7.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$2.04 €1.84

-7.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$1.49 €1.34

-22.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.76 €0.68

55.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$6.56 €5.89

-34.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$5.74 €5.16

73.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$1.15 €1.03

37.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$1.95 €1.75

36.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

$1.68 €1.51

-67.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

$31.99 €28.75

-16.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$1.67 €1.50

197.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$1.10 €0.99

202.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$14.79 €13.29

-63.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$1.81 €1.63

-20.44%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$32.3K €29.0K

-36.07%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$30.7K €27.5K

-23.47%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$116 €105

-27.13%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$15.93 €14.31

46.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$32.44 €29.15

-11.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

$45.51 €40.89

25.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

$15.74 €14.14

83.67%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$7.78 €6.99

-33.93%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$556 €499

-62.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$7,901 €7,099

-50.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$91.0 €81.8

-52.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$40.04 €35.97

3.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$96.8 €87.0

-23.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$114 €102

-21.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$891 €801

9.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

$685 €615

-44.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

$1,339 €1,203

27.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$1,008 €906

6.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

$3,337 €2,999

18.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

$2,195 €1,972

180.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 25, 2026

Last update for Alcala la Real: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Alcala la Real

$685 43.6% 79.8% $304

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Alcala la Real

$268 17.1% 5.2% $13

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Alcala la Real

$192 12.2% 5.2% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Alcala la Real

$165 10.5% 20.4% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Alcala la Real

$154 9.8% 37.6% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Alcala la Real

$61 3.9% 9.3% $6.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Alcala la Real

$46 2.9% 9% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $891 in Alcala la Real. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $66 in Alcala la Real for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $268 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Alcala la Real

🕒 Local time

07:01 7:01 AM

13:01 1:01 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

21,587

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alcala la Real 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alcala la Real

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 la Real: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Alcala la Real differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,570 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 $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,355 in Alcala la Real 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $891 in Alcala la Real. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 17% less than in Alcala la Real. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $556 in Alcala la Real. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,570 in Alcala la Real, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Alcala la Real. 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.