Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Arouca

For one person, living is cheaper in Arouca: $771 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Arouca
Learn more

Arouca Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Arouca

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $771 in Arouca.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Arouca $771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,321 in Arouca.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Arouca $1,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,871 in Arouca.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Arouca $1,871

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 56% more expensive than in Arouca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Arouca 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$10.45 TTD 70.1

4.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$59.7 TTD 401

-27.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.34 TTD 56.0

41.25%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.80 TTD 25.48

0.26%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.01 TTD 6.75

26.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.76 TTD 5.09

2.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.83 TTD 12.27

73.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.51 TTD 16.81

96.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.01 TTD 13.47

-29.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.32 TTD 15.57

-4.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.79 TTD 18.70

-49.10%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.89 TTD 26.07

-35.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.46 TTD 43.36

12.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$10.15 TTD 68.1

-24.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$8.70 TTD 58.4

45.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$5.68 TTD 38.08

-51.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.57 TTD 17.24

-46.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.62 TTD 24.28

-29.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$4.22 TTD 28.29

-49.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.71 TTD 4.79

173.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.71 TTD 4.75

166.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.44 TTD 9.64

-20.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.16 TTD 7.79

1.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$5.67 TTD 38.06

-24.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$17.88 TTD 120

-44.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.53 TTD 10.29

3.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.98 TTD 20.00

-10.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.87 TTD 5.83

471.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.92 TTD 6.15

261.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$14.87 TTD 99.8

-63.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.11 TTD 7.42

29.73%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$37.0K TTD 248.2K

-44.13%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$42.0K TTD 281.6K

-44.09%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$45.02 TTD 302

88.34%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$42.61 TTD 286

-45.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$46.33 TTD 311

-38.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$8.86 TTD 59.5

-41.99%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$403 TTD 2,702

-48.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$11.0K TTD 74.0K

-64.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$54.8 TTD 367

-20.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$36.44 TTD 245

13.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$89.1 TTD 598

-16.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$87.0 TTD 584

2.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.75

99.13%

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 Arouca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Arouca

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Arouca

$318 41.3% 24.9% $63

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Arouca

$175 22.8% 13.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Arouca

$134 17.4% 2.1% $2.9

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Arouca

$120 15.6% 7.7% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Arouca

$18 * 2.3% 73.7% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Arouca

$5.5 * 0.7% 89.2% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $60 in Arouca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $318 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇹 Arouca

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

21:06 9:06 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

12,054

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Arouca 2,970 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Arouca

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 Arouca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $771 in Arouca, so Arouca is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,156 in Arouca to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $403 in Arouca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $60 in Arouca. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $771 in Arouca versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Arouca but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Arouca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.