Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Antananarivo

For one person, living is cheaper in Antananarivo: $645 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Antananarivo
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Antananarivo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Antananarivo

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$645

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $645 in Antananarivo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Antananarivo $645

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $991 in Antananarivo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Antananarivo $991

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,338 in Antananarivo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Antananarivo $1,338

Playa del Carmen costs about 87% more than Antananarivo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Antananarivo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Antananarivo 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.62 MGA 12.0K

316.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$19.47 MGA 89.1K

122.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.52 MGA 25.3K

113.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.58 MGA 7,217

141.14%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.79 MGA 3,636

62.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.45 MGA 2,059

73.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.01 MGA 4,631

213.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.14 MGA 9,782

130.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.92 MGA 4,226

53.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.97 MGA 4,440

128.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.74 MGA 3,374

91.89%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.02 MGA 9,250

24.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.07 MGA 36.9K

-10.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.24 MGA 19.4K

81.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$4.70 MGA 21.5K

170.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.07 MGA 4,903

159.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$0.57 MGA 2,628

140.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$0.99 MGA 4,551

157.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.79 MGA 3,617

168.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.59 MGA 2,685

228.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.95 MGA 4,358

98.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.32 MGA 1,451

259.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.71 MGA 3,242

66.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$1.56 MGA 7,148

175.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$4.98 MGA 22.8K

99.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.96 MGA 4,401

64.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.77 MGA 8,123

50.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.13 MGA 610

323.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.38 MGA 15.5K

47.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.93 MGA 8,822

72.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$4.45 MGA 20.4K

20.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.14 MGA 5,235

26.32%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$11.7K MGA 53.5M

76.69%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$25.2K MGA 115.5M

-7.01%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$72.7 MGA 332.5K

16.71%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$16.30 MGA 74.6K

43.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$56.6 MGA 259.0K

-49.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$28.53 MGA 130.6K

99.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$6.88 MGA 31.5K

320.20%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.65 MGA 25.8K

-9.03%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$24.31 MGA 111.3K

749.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$14.7K MGA 67.2M

-73.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$28.35 MGA 129.7K

52.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$26.86 MGA 122.9K

54.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$74.7 MGA 341.7K

-0.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$66.9 MGA 306.0K

33.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$323 MGA 1.5M

203.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$149 MGA 680.8K

156.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$706 MGA 3.2M

141.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$314 MGA 1.4M

242.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$665 MGA 3.0M

492.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$574 MGA 2.6M

972.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$130 MGA 593.6K

466.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

15.75

-27.30%

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 Antananarivo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Antananarivo

$149 23.1% 60.9% $232

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Antananarivo

$138 21.4% 45.9% $117

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Antananarivo

$71 11% 65% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Antananarivo

$146 22.6% 6.3% $8.7

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Antananarivo

$89 13.7% 20.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Antananarivo

$40 6.2% 40.8% $27

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Antananarivo

$14 * 2.1% 73.1% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $323 in Antananarivo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 5.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Antananarivo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $138 – making Antananarivo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇬 Antananarivo

🕒 Local time

06:00 6:00 AM

14:00 2:00 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,274,225 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 MGA = 2.18 USD

10,000 MGA = 1.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MGA, 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 = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4,577 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.18 USD). 1 EUR = 5,108 MGA (10,000 MGA = 1.96 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Antananarivo 15,280 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Antananarivo

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 Antananarivo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 87%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $967 in Antananarivo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Antananarivo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $323 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $645 in Antananarivo. That makes Antananarivo about 46% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $24 in Antananarivo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Antananarivo, where all-in costs run around $645, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Antananarivo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Antananarivo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Antananarivo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.