Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ashgabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,367 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,367

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,367 in Ashgabat.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ashgabat $3,367

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,093 in Ashgabat.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Ashgabat $5,093

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $6,820 in Ashgabat.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Ashgabat $6,820

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 64% less than in Ashgabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Ashgabat is 148% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$30.92 TMT 104

-64.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$86.5 TMT 290

-48.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$13.08 TMT 43.94

-10.09%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$6.94 TMT 23.33

-46.97%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.58 TMT 5.32

-15.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.84 TMT 2.83

-2.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$5.78 TMT 19.42

-47.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$13.40 TMT 45.02

-63.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$4.41 TMT 14.82

-66.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.05 TMT 6.90

8.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$5.99 TMT 20.12

-75.29%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$5.85 TMT 19.65

-57.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$37.82 TMT 127

-80.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$19.59 TMT 65.8

-59.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$23.05 TMT 77.4

-45.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$5.19 TMT 17.45

-46.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$8.41 TMT 28.24

-83.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$7.69 TMT 25.83

-65.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.57 TMT 11.99

-40.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.31 TMT 7.74

-12.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.42 TMT 4.76

40.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$2.72 TMT 9.15

-58.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.10 TMT 3.69

9.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$25.46 TMT 85.6

-83.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$41.36 TMT 139

-75.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$5.16 TMT 17.35

-70.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.91 TMT 9.77

-8.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.14 TMT 0.47

278.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$10.01 TMT 33.62

174.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.83 TMT 9.50

73.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.84 TMT 2.84

308.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.49 TMT 28.54

-36.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.44 TMT 1.50

229.55%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$44.2K TMT 148.4K

-52.10%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$56.7K TMT 190.4K

-59.39%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$567 TMT 1,905

-84.95%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$56.8 TMT 191

-58.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$103 TMT 345

-72.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$192 TMT 645

-67.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$43.98 TMT 148

-34.79%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$8.78 TMT 29.50

-41.91%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$23.20 TMT 77.9

766.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$24.9K TMT 83.6K

-84.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$56.1 TMT 189

-20.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$115 TMT 385

-63.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$368 TMT 1,238

-80.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$195 TMT 655

-54.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,412 TMT 4,745

-30.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$982 TMT 3,298

-62.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$2,273 TMT 7,636

-26.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,959 TMT 6,582

-44.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,585 TMT 12.0K

10.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$2,851 TMT 9,580

115.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$738 TMT 2,478

-0.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.5

20.53%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Ashgabat: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Ashgabat

$982 29.2% 163% $609

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Ashgabat

$666 19.8% 158% $407

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Ashgabat

$435 12.9% 117% $235

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ashgabat

$727 21.6% 429% $589

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ashgabat

$330 9.8% 196% $219

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Ashgabat

$210 6.2% 190% $137

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Ashgabat

$18 0.5% 65.9% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $1,412 in Ashgabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashgabat pays 0% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $86.0 in Ashgabat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $666 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🕒 Local time

09:21 9:21 AM

19:21 7:21 PM

10 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

909,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 TMT = 0.298 USD

1 TMT = 0.265 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TMT, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.36 TMT (1 TMT = 0.298 USD). 1 EUR = 3.78 TMT (1 TMT = 0.265 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ashgabat 12,570 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ashgabat

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 Ashgabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Ashgabat differ by about 180% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $3,367 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 0% lower in Ashgabat. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,412 in Ashgabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $23.20 in Ashgabat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 158% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,367 in Ashgabat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ashgabat. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Ashgabat are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 180% less than in Ashgabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.