Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Arenal Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Arenal

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 7.8% cheaper than Arenal without rent, and 20.9% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 23.8% cheaper than Arenal without rent, and 7.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.99 MX$227

$10.9 ₡5,456

10.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.47 MX$803

$58.6 ₡29.3K

-27.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 MX$198

$9.82 ₡4,918

6.62%

Cappuccino

$3.6 MX$68.2

$3.8 ₡1,904

-5.26%

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

$1.44 MX$27.16

$1.98 ₡990

-27.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 MX$16.79

$1.61 ₡805

-44.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 MX$58.5

$3 ₡1,502

3.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 MX$86.6

$4.73 ₡2,367

-3.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$26.04

$2.06 ₡1,033

-33.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$34.9

$2.85 ₡1,428

-35.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.68

$2.22 ₡1,112

-29.28%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$48.3

$2.93 ₡1,469

-12.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$163

$9.74 ₡4,874

-11.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.54 MX$161

$9.08 ₡4,546

-5.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.98 MX$208

$13.84 ₡6,931

-20.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.4

$4.4 ₡2,203

-38.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$28.57

$1.51 ₡756

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.63

$4.36 ₡2,183

-56.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.42

$3.55 ₡1,779

-38.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 MX$35.3

$3.52 ₡1,765

-46.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.37

$3.21 ₡1,605

-31.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$20.23

$0.97 ₡484

10.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.64

$2.85 ₡1,427

-61.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 MX$74.9

$5.38 ₡2,695

-26.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.86 MX$167

$18.66 ₡9,343

-52.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 MX$32.53

$2.52 ₡1,259

-31.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 MX$49.37

$2.95 ₡1,476

-11.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.74

$1.04 ₡520

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.59 MX$503

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$61.2

$1.78 ₡891

82.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 MX$44.94

$1.84 ₡921

29.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$58.7

$8.11 ₡4,058

-61.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.85

$1.4 ₡700

-6.43%

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

$30.3K MX$573K

$37.7K ₡18.9M

-19.56%

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

$24K MX$453.6K

$33.1K ₡16.6M

-27.59%

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

$84.2 MX$1,592

$94.5 ₡47.3K

-10.83%

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

$22.14 MX$419

$25.71 ₡12.9K

-13.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.14 MX$570

$59.1 ₡29.6K

-49.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52 MX$983

$57.8 ₡28.9K

-10.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.72 MX$354

$23.97 ₡12K

-21.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 MX$95.9

$9.73 ₡4,873

-47.89%

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

$200 MX$3,787

$561 ₡280.7K

-64.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,333 MX$100.8K

$12.7K ₡6.4M

-58.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.74 MX$676

$61.6 ₡30.8K

-41.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.8 MX$753

$52.4 ₡26.2K

-24.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79 MX$1,493

$126 ₡63.1K

-37.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,671

$108 ₡54K

-18.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$965 MX$18.3K

$759 ₡380.1K

27.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 MX$8,968

$597 ₡299K

-20.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 MX$31.2K

$1,533 ₡767.2K

7.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,202 MX$22.7K

$968 ₡484.4K

24.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,081 MX$58.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,529 MX$142.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$792 MX$15K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

10.17

12.29%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Arenal: October 27, 2025

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