Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bardwell Park, NSW

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,500 in Bardwell Park, NSW, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 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
122

Cost of Living Index in Bardwell Park, NSW
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Bardwell Park, NSW Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bardwell Park, NSW

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Bardwell Park, NSW

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 Bardwell Park, NSW actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,500 in Bardwell Park, NSW.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Bardwell Park, NSW $2,500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,594 in Bardwell Park, NSW.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Bardwell Park, NSW $3,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,688 in Bardwell Park, NSW.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Bardwell Park, NSW $4,688

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 52% less than in Bardwell Park, NSW, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Bardwell Park, NSW is 84% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$17.22 A$24.39

-36.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$82.6 A$117

-47.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$10.64 A$15.07

10.71%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.91 A$5.54

-2.56%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.94 A$4.16

-56.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$2.32 A$3.29

-66.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$7.49 A$10.61

-57.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$7.72 A$10.93

-36.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.58 A$2.23

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$2.67 A$3.79

-16.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.30 A$3.25

-38.26%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$5.08 A$7.20

-50.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.43 A$13.36

-23.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.18 A$13.01

-16.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$14.66 A$20.77

-13.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.72 A$5.27

-25.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$2.99 A$4.23

-54.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$3.27 A$4.63

-22.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$4.62 A$6.55

-54.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$2.77 A$3.93

-29.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$2.37 A$3.36

-20.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$2.32 A$3.28

-50.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.54 A$2.19

-23.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$41.41 A$58.7

-89.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$14.28 A$20.23

-30.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$4.59 A$6.50

-65.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$5.36 A$7.60

-50.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.71 A$3.84

-79.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$88.5 A$125

-69.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.53 A$5.01

40.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.59 A$2.26

109.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$40.76 A$57.8

-86.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.33 A$1.88

8.27%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$29.0K A$41.1K

-28.82%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$26.3K A$37.2K

-10.68%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$188 A$266

-54.78%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$27.38 A$38.79

-14.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$57.9 A$82.0

-50.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$55.5 A$78.7

2.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$17.68 A$25.04

63.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$13.82 A$19.58

-62.81%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$2,172 A$3,077

-90.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$20.8K A$29.4K

-81.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$76.1 A$108

-43.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$54.2 A$76.8

-23.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$110 A$155

-32.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$124 A$176

-28.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,400 A$1,983

-30.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$1,212 A$1,717

-68.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,256 A$3,196

-24.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,789 A$2,535

-39.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$5,938 A$8,412

-33.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$5,025 A$7,118

22.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$5,686 A$8,055

-87.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.9

94.07%

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 Bardwell Park, NSW: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$1.2K 48.5% 218% $832

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$366 14.6% 43.7% $111

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$291 11.6% 43.6% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$273 10.9% 99.3% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$164 6.6% 46.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$83 3.3% 23.6% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Bardwell Park, NSW

$111 4.4% 120% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,400 in Bardwell Park, NSW. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bardwell Park, NSW pays about 7.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $83 in Bardwell Park, NSW for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $366 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Bardwell Park, NSW

🕒 Local time

20:57 8:57 PM

12:57 12:57 PM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,209

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.634 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.634 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Bardwell Park, NSW 14,150 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bardwell Park, NSW

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 Bardwell Park, NSW: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Bardwell Park, NSW. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 87% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,400 in Bardwell Park, NSW. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Bardwell Park, NSW. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $83 in Bardwell Park, NSW. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,500 in Bardwell Park, NSW, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Bardwell Park, NSW. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Bardwell Park, NSW. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.