Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ansan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,415 in Ansan, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Ansan
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Ansan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ansan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,415

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,415 in Ansan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ansan $1,415

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,177 in Ansan.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ansan $2,177

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,939 in Ansan.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ansan $2,939

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 15% less than in Ansan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Ansan is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$7.43 ₩9,958

46.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.75 ₩46.6K

24.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$6.70 ₩8,976

75.82%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.09 ₩5,486

-6.85%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.58 ₩2,113

-18.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.77 ₩1,027

1.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.56 ₩4,769

-10.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$4.60 ₩6,166

7.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.05 ₩2,743

-31.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$3.08 ₩4,128

-27.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.36 ₩3,158

-39.83%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.68 ₩4,938

-31.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$16.05 ₩21.5K

-54.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.99 ₩10.7K

-3.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$17.18 ₩23.0K

-26.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$7.66 ₩10.3K

-63.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$3.23 ₩4,334

-57.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$5.81 ₩7,785

-56.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$6.43 ₩8,621

-67.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$3.59 ₩4,815

-45.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$2.65 ₩3,546

-28.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$2.14 ₩2,864

-46.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.15 ₩1,544

2.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$3.37 ₩4,514

27.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$19.15 ₩25.7K

-48.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$2.30 ₩3,085

-31.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$3.30 ₩4,420

-19.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.14 ₩1,529

-51.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.77 ₩5,052

31.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.64 ₩857

420.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$9.26 ₩12.4K

-42.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.41 ₩1,886

2.13%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$29.9K ₩40.1M

-30.94%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$29.0K ₩38.9M

-19.14%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$213 ₩285.8K

-60.23%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$35.59 ₩47.7K

-34.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$21.25 ₩28.5K

34.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.00 ₩49.6K

54.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$11.37 ₩15.2K

-54.79%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$299 ₩400.9K

-30.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$18.2K ₩24.4M

-78.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$57.6 ₩77.2K

-24.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$33.41 ₩44.8K

24.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$71.6 ₩95.9K

3.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$82.4 ₩110.4K

8.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$461 ₩617.3K

112.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$376 ₩504.0K

1.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,113 ₩1.5M

53.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$763 ₩1.0M

40.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$21.1K ₩28.3M

-81.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,493 ₩2.0M

-50.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.08

180.64%

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 Ansan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ansan

$376 26.6% 1.3% $4.8

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ansan

$423 29.9% 66% $168

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ansan

$165 11.7% 18.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ansan

$270 19.1% 97.3% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ansan

$110 7.8% 1.3% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ansan

$60 4.2% 11.3% $7.6

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ansan

$12 * 0.8% 77.1% $39

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 $980 in Playa del Carmen and $461 in Ansan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ansan pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $35 in Ansan. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $423, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Ansan

🕒 Local time

03:29 3:29 AM

17:29 5:29 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

677,710

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,496 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ansan 12,660 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ansan

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 Ansan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 15% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $461 in Ansan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $299 in Ansan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ansan – a meal for two runs $35 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Ansan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.