Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alexandria, Jamaica

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $1,006 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Alexandria

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,006

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,006 in Alexandria.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Alexandria $1,006

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,667 in Alexandria.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Alexandria $1,667

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,327 in Alexandria.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Alexandria $2,327

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 20% more expensive than in Alexandria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Alexandria 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$13.76 JMD 2,173

-20.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$76.3 JMD 12.1K

-43.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.41 JMD 1,328

40.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$5.18 JMD 818

-26.45%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.15 JMD 182

11.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.71 JMD 112

9.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.24 JMD 355

41.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.13 JMD 494

57.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$4.21 JMD 665

-66.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$3.77 JMD 596

-41.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.55 JMD 245

-8.39%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.48 JMD 549

-27.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$11.33 JMD 1,789

-35.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.32 JMD 998

21.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$10.26 JMD 1,621

23.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$6.15 JMD 972

-54.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$3.80 JMD 601

-63.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$7.26 JMD 1,146

-64.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.95 JMD 467

-28.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.33 JMD 526

-41.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.64 JMD 416

-28.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$3.02 JMD 478

-61.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.45 JMD 229

-18.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$9.67 JMD 1,527

-55.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$11.15 JMD 1,761

-10.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.95 JMD 465

-46.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.97 JMD 627

-32.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.24 JMD 196

300.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$3.17 JMD 501

5.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$6.22 JMD 982

-13.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.46 JMD 231

-1.37%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$43.8K JMD 6.9M

-52.87%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$33.2K JMD 5.2M

-29.24%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$170 JMD 26.8K

-50.09%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$29.37 JMD 4,641

-20.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$53.4 JMD 8,434

-46.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$13.09 JMD 2,068

-60.73%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$365 JMD 57.7K

-43.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$8,251 JMD 1.3M

-52.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$23.63 JMD 3,734

83.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$30.87 JMD 4,877

34.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$76.5 JMD 12.1K

-2.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$101 JMD 16.0K

-12.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.45

21.16%

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 Alexandria: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Alexandria

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Alexandria

$383 38.1% 50.5% $129

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Alexandria

$222 22.1% 9.9% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Alexandria

$253 25.1% 84.6% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Alexandria

$105 10.4% 6.3% $7.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Alexandria

$26 * 2.6% 61.1% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Alexandria

$17 * 1.7% 66.1% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $76 in Alexandria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $383 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇲 Alexandria

🕒 Local time

23:12 11:12 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,927

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, 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).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alexandria 1,050 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alexandria

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 Alexandria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,006 in Alexandria, so Alexandria is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,509 in Alexandria 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.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $365 in Alexandria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $76 in Alexandria. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Alexandria 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.