Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Asuncion

For one person, living is cheaper in Asuncion: $1,062 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Asuncion
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Asuncion Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Asuncion

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$1,062

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,062 in Asuncion, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Asuncion $1,062

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,655 in Asuncion, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Asuncion $1,655

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,249 in Asuncion, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Asuncion $2,249

Playa del Carmen costs about 13% more than Asuncion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Asuncion are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Asuncion 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$6.76 ₲39.2K

61.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$43.17 ₲250.5K

0.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.01 ₲40.7K

68.05%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.47 ₲20.1K

9.80%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.09 ₲6,309

17.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.55 ₲3,202

41.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.02 ₲11.7K

56.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$1.73 ₲10.0K

184.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.27 ₲7,351

11.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.46 ₲8,483

52.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.39 ₲8,042

2.16%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.36 ₲13.7K

6.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.88 ₲57.3K

-26.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.23 ₲30.3K

47.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.02 ₲58.1K

26.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.01 ₲17.5K

-7.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.25 ₲7,279

9.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.22 ₲7,105

109.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.49 ₲14.4K

-14.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.40 ₲8,097

38.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.35 ₲7,859

40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.91 ₲5,292

26.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.71 ₲4,103

66.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.37 ₲13.8K

81.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$9.08 ₲52.7K

9.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.33 ₲7,697

18.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.73 ₲10.0K

54.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.61 ₲3,511

-9.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$36.24 ₲210.3K

-26.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.51 ₲8,790

229.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.52 ₲8,817

119.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$10.37 ₲60.2K

-48.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.22 ₲7,103

18.03%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$17.0K ₲98.9M

21.26%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$29.5K ₲171.4M

-20.56%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$51.4 ₲298.4K

64.86%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$17.47 ₲101.4K

34.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$22.66 ₲131.5K

26.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$36.59 ₲212.3K

55.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$15.07 ₲87.5K

91.84%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$8.42 ₲48.9K

-38.95%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$183 ₲1.1M

12.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,692 ₲33.0M

-31.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$63.8 ₲370.1K

-32.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$56.7 ₲328.8K

-26.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$108 ₲628.5K

-31.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$70.0 ₲406.4K

27.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$639 ₲3.7M

53.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$382 ₲2.2M

-0.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,066 ₲6.2M

60.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$635 ₲3.7M

69.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,750 ₲10.2M

125.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,233 ₲7.2M

399.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$726 ₲4.2M

1.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.5

9.05%

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 Asuncion: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Asuncion

$382 36% 0.4% $1.5

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Asuncion

$215 20.3% 15.5% $40

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Asuncion

$137 12.9% 32.4% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Asuncion

$92 8.6% 33.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Asuncion

$134 12.7% 20.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Asuncion

$53 5% 20.6% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Asuncion

$48 4.5% 5.3% $2.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $639 in Asuncion. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $43 in Asuncion. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $215 in Asuncion – so Asuncion wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇾 Asuncion

🕒 Local time

13:04 1:04 PM

15:04 3:04 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

742,023 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.72 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.55 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PYG, USD, EUR 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).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5,803 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.72 USD). 1 EUR = 6,460 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.55 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Asuncion 6,010 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Asuncion

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 Asuncion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 13%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,592 in Asuncion. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Asuncion, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $639 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,062 in Asuncion. That’s a gap of about 13%.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $183 in Asuncion. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,062 in Asuncion, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Asuncion – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.