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

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 4.1% more expensive than Arrecife without rent, and 20.9% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 18.6% cheaper than Arrecife without rent, and 4.2% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.99 MX$227
$12.12 €10.46
-1.07%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.47 MX$803
$51.9 €44.82
-18.20%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.47 MX$198
$9.25 €7.98
13.19%
Cappuccino
$3.6 MX$68.2
$2.19 €1.89
64.38%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.44 MX$27.16
$2.11 €1.82
-31.75%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.89 MX$16.79
$1.25 €1.08
-28.80%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 MX$58.5
$2.96 €2.56
4.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.58 MX$86.6
$3.41 €2.95
34.31%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 MX$26.04
$1.22 €1.06
13.11%
White Bread (500g)
$1.85 MX$34.9
$2.02 €1.75
-8.42%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 MX$29.68
$1.18 €1.02
33.05%
Eggs
$2.55 MX$48.3
$3.23 €2.79
-21.05%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$163
$11.99 €10.35
-28.19%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$7.13 €6.16
19.78%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.98 MX$208
$15.83 €13.67
-30.64%
Apples (1kg)
$2.72 MX$51.4
$2.47 €2.13
10.12%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.57
$2.43 €2.1
-37.86%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 MX$35.63
$2.2 €1.9
-14.55%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.42
$2.64 €2.28
-17.05%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 MX$35.3
$2.19 €1.89
-14.61%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.37
$2.65 €2.29
-17.36%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.23
$1.8 €1.56
-40.56%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.64
$0.9 €0.77
21.11%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 MX$74.9
$4.71 €4.06
-15.92%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.86 MX$167
$6.38 €5.51
38.87%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.72 MX$32.53
$1.56 €1.35
10.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 MX$49.37
$3.55 €3.06
-26.48%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.74
$1.99 €1.71
-73.87%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.59 MX$503
$23.57 €20.35
12.81%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 MX$61.2
$3.43 €2.96
-5.54%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 MX$44.94
$2.04 €1.76
16.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$58.7
$23.12 €19.96
-86.55%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 MX$24.85
$1.58 €1.37
-17.09%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K MX$573K
$38.2K €33K
-20.61%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24K MX$453.6K
$29.6K €25.6K
-18.97%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$79.2 €68.4
6.38%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.14 MX$419
$20.86 €18.01
6.14%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.14 MX$570
$29.37 €25.35
2.62%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52 MX$983
$70.3 €60.7
-26.05%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.72 MX$354
$23.03 €19.88
-18.71%
Cinema Ticket
$5.07 MX$95.9
$8.26 €7.13
-38.62%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,787
$533 €460
-62.41%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,333 MX$100.8K
$6,548 €5,654
-18.56%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.74 MX$676
$104 €89.4
-65.50%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.8 MX$753
$34.78 €30.03
14.43%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79 MX$1,493
$92.1 €79.5
-14.22%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,671
$148 €128
-40.44%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$965 MX$18.3K
$859 €742
12.35%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$474 MX$8,968
$702 €606
-32.40%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,653 MX$31.2K
$1,421 €1,227
16.34%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,202 MX$22.7K
$1,081 €933
11.19%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,081 MX$58.3K
$3,487 €3,010
-11.62%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,529 MX$142.3K
$1,380 €1,192
445.40%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Arrecife
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$792 MX$15K
$1,788 €1,544
-55.73%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
3.43
232.94%

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 Arrecife: October 28, 2025

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