Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Andong

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,406 in Andong, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Andong
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Andong Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Andong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,406 in Andong.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Andong $1,406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,175 in Andong.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Andong $2,175

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,944 in Andong.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Andong $2,944

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 14% less than in Andong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Andong is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$5.93 ₩7,886

81.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$35.18 ₩46.8K

22.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$6.53 ₩8,678

80.55%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.72 ₩4,953

4.03%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.61 ₩2,146

-14.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.59 ₩778

42.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.55 ₩4,716

-12.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.57 ₩6,078

10.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.28 ₩3,029

-36.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$3.02 ₩4,014

-26.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.30 ₩3,061

-36.09%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.35 ₩4,453

-24.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$15.85 ₩21.1K

-53.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.72 ₩10.3K

1.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$11.00 ₩14.6K

16.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$7.67 ₩10.2K

-62.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$3.32 ₩4,412

-56.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$7.37 ₩9,800

-65.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$6.82 ₩9,073

-69.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$3.55 ₩4,719

-43.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.36 ₩3,135

-14.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$2.00 ₩2,658

-40.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.29 ₩1,714

-2.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.27 ₩4,348

34.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$18.83 ₩25.0K

-49.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.20 ₩2,926

-27.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.38 ₩4,497

-16.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.13 ₩1,507

-49.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.04 ₩4,038

63.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.66 ₩882

430.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$12.91 ₩17.2K

-58.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.42 ₩1,883

3.52%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$29.3K ₩38.9M

-28.32%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$36.0K ₩47.8M

-33.53%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$207 ₩274.6K

-59.22%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$42.65 ₩56.7K

-43.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$20.71 ₩27.5K

40.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$51.6 ₩68.6K

22.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$11.83 ₩15.7K

146.32%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$10.99 ₩14.6K

-55.05%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$299 ₩397.0K

-31.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$18.1K ₩24.1M

-78.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$64.9 ₩86.3K

-32.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$64.1 ₩85.2K

-32.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$74.2 ₩98.6K

2.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$98.4 ₩130.8K

-9.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$482 ₩640.9K

109.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$358 ₩476.0K

4.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,183 ₩1.6M

44.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$736 ₩978.0K

50.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$7,141 ₩9.5M

-44.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$5,385 ₩7.2M

14.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,850 ₩2.5M

-59.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.1

179.27%

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 Andong: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Andong

$358 25.5% 4.3% $16

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Andong

$411 29.2% 59% $152

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Andong

$147 10.5% 27.1% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Andong

$270 19.2% 96.7% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Andong

$136 9.7% 20.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Andong

$74 5.2% 0.9% $0.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Andong

$11 * 0.8% 79.3% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $482 in Andong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Andong pays 145% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $35.00 in Andong. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $411, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Andong

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

10:38 10:38 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

166,274

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR 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).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Andong 12,630 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Andong

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 Andong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Andong. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 145% lower in Andong. 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $482 in Andong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $299 in Andong. 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 $43.00 versus $35.00 in Andong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,406 in Andong, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Andong. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Andong 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 16% less than in Andong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.