Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ambert

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,879 in Ambert, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Ambert
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Ambert Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Ambert

🇫🇷 France

$1,879

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,879 in Ambert.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Ambert $1,879

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,929 in Ambert.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ambert $2,929

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,979 in Ambert.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Ambert $3,979

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 36% less than in Ambert, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Ambert is 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$16.94 €15.15

-37.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$72.4 €64.7

-39.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$13.43 €12.01

-12.21%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.69 €3.30

2.71%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.88 €2.58

-54.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.96 €1.75

-57.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$5.74 €5.13

-45.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.36 €3.90

13.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.39 €1.24

1.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.20 €1.97

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.69 €2.41

-45.35%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.67 €3.28

-31.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$18.42 €16.47

-60.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$13.66 €12.21

-41.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$24.62 €22.02

-47.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.84 €2.54

2.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.37 €2.12

-41.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.86 €2.55

-12.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$3.78 €3.38

-46.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$2.33 €2.08

-13.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.94 €2.63

-35.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.77 €1.58

-35.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.61 €0.54

103.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$14.19 €12.69

-69.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.67 €6.86

27.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$3.77 €3.37

-57.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.70 €2.41

1.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.98 €1.77

-74.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$49.40 €44.18

-44.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$5.10 €4.56

-6.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.72 €1.54

88.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$34.08 €30.47

-84.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.20 €1.96

-30.45%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$34.3K €30.6K

-38.09%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$38.4K €34.4K

-39.48%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$220 €197

-62.02%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$16.90 €15.11

37.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$32.65 €29.20

-15.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$35.54 €31.78

58.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$13.85 €12.38

-63.90%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$754 €674

-72.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$13.1K €11.8K

-60.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$89.0 €79.6

-51.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$64.2 €57.4

-33.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$104 €93.0

-30.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$179 €160

-50.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$754 €674

31.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$617 €552

-38.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,446 €1,293

15.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,165 €1,042

-7.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$4,208 €3,763

-7.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$3,195 €2,857

92.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.81

200.52%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ambert: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Ambert

$617 32.9% 61.4% $235

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Ambert

$384 20.5% 49.3% $127

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Ambert

$277 14.7% 38.3% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Ambert

$269 14.3% 101% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Ambert

$196 10.5% 76.7% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Ambert

$63 3.4% 4.8% $3.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ambert

$71 3.8% 40.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $754 in Ambert. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $72 in Ambert for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $384 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇫🇷 Ambert

🕒 Local time

17:16 5:16 PM

23:16 11:16 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

6,700

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ambert 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ambert

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 Ambert: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,879 in Ambert, so Playa del Carmen is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $2,818 in Ambert 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $754 in Ambert. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Ambert. 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 $44 versus $72 in Ambert. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,879 in Ambert, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ambert. 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.