Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Anuradhapura

For one person, living is cheaper in Anuradhapura: $506 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Anuradhapura
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Anuradhapura Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Anuradhapura

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$506

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $506 in Anuradhapura, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Anuradhapura $506

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $820 in Anuradhapura, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Anuradhapura $820

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,134 in Anuradhapura, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Anuradhapura $1,134

Playa del Carmen costs about 138% more than Anuradhapura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Anuradhapura are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Anuradhapura 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$3.75 LKR 1,242

189.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$24.57 LKR 8,139

79.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.52 LKR 2,490

56.38%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.44 LKR 810

50.82%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.68 LKR 227

97.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.27 LKR 89.9

203.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.23 LKR 738

37.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.99 LKR 990

65.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.61 LKR 534

-8.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.57 LKR 189

289.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.81 LKR 269

82.72%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.63 LKR 541

52.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.86 LKR 4,590

-45.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.92 LKR 1,630

61.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$7.26 LKR 2,405

73.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$6.67 LKR 2,208

-58.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$0.86 LKR 286

66.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.46 LKR 1,476

-41.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.26 LKR 418

69.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.00 LKR 330

102.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.83 LKR 274

139.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.93 LKR 308

22.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.43 LKR 142

179.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$10.39 LKR 3,441

-59.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$13.07 LKR 4,330

-23.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.96 LKR 648

-21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.90 LKR 961

-8.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.40 LKR 134

1125.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.37 LKR 123

827.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$0.88 LKR 292

511.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.34 LKR 443

8.21%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$43.5K LKR 14.4M

-51.38%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

-42.57%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$58.5 LKR 19.4K

46.01%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$4.23 LKR 1,401

454.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$21.09 LKR 6,984

34.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$4.41 LKR 1,460

15.65%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$38.06 LKR 12.6K

428.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$1,224 LKR 405.4K

222.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$18.46 LKR 6,115

140.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$16.65 LKR 5,515

148.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$80.4 LKR 26.6K

-9.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$41.98 LKR 13.9K

113.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.69

-9.77%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Anuradhapura: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Anuradhapura

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Anuradhapura

$237 46.9% 8.1% $21

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Anuradhapura

$103 20.3% 48.6% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Anuradhapura

$84 16.6% 39% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Anuradhapura

$71 14% 36.5% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Anuradhapura

$8.8 * 1.7% 87.8% $64

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Anuradhapura

$2.3 * 0.5% 95.6% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $25.00 in Anuradhapura. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $237 – making Anuradhapura the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Anuradhapura

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

15:51 3:51 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

63,200

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Anuradhapura 16,520 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Anuradhapura

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 Anuradhapura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $506 in Anuradhapura – roughly 138% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $759 in Anuradhapura. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $25.00 in Anuradhapura. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 9% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Anuradhapura, where all-in costs run around $506, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Anuradhapura it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $506 in Anuradhapura to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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