Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Arrest

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,800 in Arrest, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
87

Cost of Living Index in Arrest
Learn more

Arrest Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Arrest

🇫🇷 France

$1,800

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,800 in Arrest.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Arrest $1,800

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,757 in Arrest.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Arrest $2,757

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,713 in Arrest.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Arrest $3,713

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 33% less than in Arrest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Arrest is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$16.82 €15.11

-35.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$56.2 €50.5

-22.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$13.24 €11.90

-11.03%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.97 €2.67

28.28%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$3.05 €2.74

-58.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.08 €1.87

-62.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$8.52 €7.66

-62.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$5.57 €5.00

-11.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.30 €1.17

8.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.69 €1.52

31.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.49 €2.24

-42.97%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.92 €3.52

-35.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.07 €9.05

-27.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$12.03 €10.80

-35.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$15.92 €14.30

-20.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.99 €2.68

-7.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.03 €2.72

-54.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.46 €1.31

74.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$4.20 €3.78

-49.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.83 €1.65

6.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.08 €1.87

-9.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.62 €1.46

-29.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.16 €0.14

637.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$12.64 €11.35

-65.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.56 €4.99

78.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.43 €1.28

10.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.59 €1.43

67.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.94 €1.74

-71.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$50.4 €45.31

-47.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.27 €2.04

118.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.14 €1.03

192.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$32.61 €29.30

-83.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$2.17 €1.95

-33.64%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$34.9K €31.3K

-40.77%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$35.8K €32.2K

-34.50%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$200 €180

-57.61%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$32.60 €29.28

-28.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$31.74 €28.51

-9.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$40.19 €36.10

41.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$15.48 €13.91

-66.80%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$889 €799

-76.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.6K €9,481

-62.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$129 €116

-66.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$46.35 €41.63

-10.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$98.9 €88.8

-24.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$158 €142

-43.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$825 €741

18.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$626 €563

-39.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,536 €1,380

11.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,160 €1,042

-7.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,727 €3,348

5.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$3,368 €3,026

82.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.9

193.59%

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 Arrest: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Arrest

$626 34.8% 64.5% $246

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Arrest

$293 16.3% 15% $38

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Arrest

$284 15.8% 40.5% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Arrest

$264 14.7% 93.2% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Arrest

$195 10.8% 74.3% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Arrest

$71 4% 5.7% $3.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Arrest

$66 3.7% 31.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $825 in Arrest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $56 in Arrest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $293 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇫🇷 Arrest

🕒 Local time

17:55 5:55 PM

23:55 11:55 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Arrest 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Arrest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 33% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,700 in Arrest 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $825 in Arrest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $889 in Arrest. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Arrest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,800 in Arrest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Arrest. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.