Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ariana

For one person, living is cheaper in Ariana: $666 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Ariana
Learn more

Ariana Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ariana

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $666 in Ariana, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ariana $666

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,044 in Ariana, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ariana $1,044

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,422 in Ariana, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ariana $1,422

Playa del Carmen costs about 81% more than Ariana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ariana are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Ariana 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.08 TND 15.26

114.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$17.54 TND 52.7

147.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.94 TND 14.86

138.46%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.14 TND 3.42

234.21%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.65 TND 1.95

96.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.33 TND 1.01

136.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.63 TND 4.90

94.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.35 TND 4.05

265.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.51 TND 1.53

176.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.26 TND 0.79

753.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.69 TND 5.07

-15.98%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.51 TND 4.54

66.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.11 TND 21.35

2.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.13 TND 18.42

25.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$11.16 TND 33.54

13.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.68 TND 5.04

65.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.60 TND 7.80

-47.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.24 TND 3.72

105.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.81 TND 2.44

161.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.81 TND 2.43

139.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.71 TND 2.14

166.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.52 TND 1.57

121.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.33 TND 1.00

257.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.54 TND 10.63

21.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$6.57 TND 19.74

51.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.23 TND 3.71

28.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.50 TND 4.51

78.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.15 TND 0.46

266.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$9.82 TND 29.51

171.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.29 TND 0.86

1613.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.31 TND 0.94

974.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.84 TND 5.52

191.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.82 TND 2.47

75.61%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$38.8K TND 116.6K

-46.73%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$36.6K TND 109.9K

-35.86%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$61.3 TND 184

38.25%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$8.85 TND 26.60

164.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$21.26 TND 63.9

34.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$31.55 TND 94.8

80.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$16.47 TND 49.49

75.53%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$4.44 TND 13.34

15.77%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$107 TND 321

93.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$3,191 TND 9,587

23.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$38.82 TND 117

11.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$56.8 TND 171

-27.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$88.9 TND 267

-16.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$67.1 TND 202

32.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$242 TND 728

304.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$154 TND 461

148.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$440 TND 1,322

288.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$291 TND 875

269.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,029 TND 3,092

283.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$736 TND 2,210

737.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$329 TND 989

123.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.65

7.51%

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 Ariana: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ariana

$154 23.1% 59.7% $227

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ariana

$171 25.7% 32.8% $84

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ariana

$84 12.6% 58.5% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ariana

$91 13.7% 33.2% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ariana

$113 17% 1.4% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ariana

$40 6.1% 39.9% $27

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ariana

$12 1.8% 75.7% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $242 in Ariana. 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 2.2 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 $18 in Ariana. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $171 – making Ariana the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇳 Ariana

🕒 Local time

23:09 11:09 PM

05:09 5:09 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

114,486

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 TND = 0.333 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, 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 = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3 TND (1 TND = 0.333 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ariana 9,260 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ariana

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 Ariana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $666 in Ariana – Ariana comes out roughly 45% cheaper. 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 $999 in Ariana. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ariana, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $242 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 49% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $18 in Ariana. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Ariana, where all-in costs run around $666, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Ariana it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Ariana – 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 Ariana. 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.