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

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 36.3% cheaper than Balga without rent, and 44.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 33.8% cheaper than Balga without rent, and 28.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 MX$212

$16.27 A$24.86

-28.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42 MX$769

$79.5 A$122

-47.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.5 MX$192

$10.53 A$16.09

-0.28%

Cappuccino

$3.43 MX$62.8

$3.66 A$5.59

-6.28%

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

$1.49 MX$27.34

$2.5 A$3.82

-40.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.27

$1.92 A$2.93

-51.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$56.3

$7.66 A$11.71

-59.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 MX$79.9

$6.37 A$9.73

-31.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$25.44

$1.41 A$2.16

-1.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$33.81

$2.45 A$3.74

-24.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.88

$1.93 A$2.95

-18.13%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46

$4.6 A$7.03

-45.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.26 MX$151

$8.35 A$12.76

-1.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.7 MX$159

$8.52 A$13.02

2.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.73 MX$196

$13.88 A$21.21

-22.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$47.74

$3.39 A$5.18

-23.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.28

$2.96 A$4.52

-49.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.72

$2.89 A$4.41

-32.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 MX$38.26

$4.73 A$7.22

-55.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.05

$2.41 A$3.68

-24.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.62

$1.72 A$2.62

25.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 MX$18.85

$2 A$3.06

-48.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.7

$1.51 A$2.3

-28.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 MX$75.9

$32.24 A$49.27

-87.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.88 MX$163

$10.68 A$16.32

-16.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 MX$30.64

$3.86 A$5.89

-56.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 MX$46.31

$4.18 A$6.39

-39.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.27

$2.58 A$3.94

-80.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.68 MX$488

$65.7 A$100

-59.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$59.7

$3.94 A$6.02

-17.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.51 MX$45.94

$2.15 A$3.28

16.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 MX$57.2

$50.2 A$76.7

-93.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.96

$1.16 A$1.77

12.93%

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

$30.9K MX$565K

$28.6K A$43.7K

7.93%

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

$23.9K MX$436.9K

$24.3K A$37.1K

-1.77%

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

$83 MX$1,520

$156 A$239

-46.91%

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

$22.59 MX$414

$28.28 A$43.21

-20.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.51 MX$540

$54.5 A$83.2

-45.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 MX$944

$49.18 A$75.2

4.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 MX$337

$15.99 A$24.44

15.20%

Cinema Ticket

$4.9 MX$89.7

$16.09 A$24.59

-69.55%

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

$200 MX$3,668

$1,787 A$2,731

-88.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,179 MX$94.8K

$12.1K A$18.5K

-57.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.41 MX$667

$71.5 A$109

-49.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.91 MX$731

$47.39 A$72.4

-15.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MX$1,462

$103 A$158

-22.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 MX$1,605

$105 A$161

-16.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MX$18K

$1,286 A$1,965

-23.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,612

$1,053 A$1,609

-55.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 MX$29.5K

$2,039 A$3,115

-21.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 MX$21.8K

$1,692 A$2,586

-29.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,839 MX$70.3K

$5,924 A$9,053

-35.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,205 MX$113.6K

$4,567 A$6,978

35.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$724 MX$13.2K

$3,098 A$4,734

-76.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

6.42

77.88%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 30, 2025

Last update for Balga: December 1, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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