Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Batangas

For one person, living is cheaper in Batangas: $610 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Batangas
Learn more

Batangas Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Batangas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $610 in Batangas.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Batangas $610

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $887 in Batangas.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Batangas $887

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,165 in Batangas.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Batangas $1,165

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 98% more expensive than in Batangas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Batangas 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$2.14 ₱137

410.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$19.00 ₱1,214

128.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$2.63 ₱168

347.91%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.06 ₱131

84.95%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.37 ₱23.89

245.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.28 ₱17.98

178.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.05 ₱67.0

201.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$1.40 ₱89.2

252.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.71 ₱109

-17.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.16 ₱74.1

91.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.77 ₱49.36

84.42%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.61 ₱103

56.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$5.49 ₱351

32.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.09 ₱261

88.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$6.99 ₱446

81.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.29 ₱146

21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.35 ₱86.1

1.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.41 ₱154

5.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.16 ₱74.0

82.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.20 ₱141

-11.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$3.24 ₱207

-41.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.29 ₱82.1

-10.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.89 ₱56.6

32.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.52 ₱161

70.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.55 ₱482

31.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.27 ₱81.4

24.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.72 ₱110

55.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.63 ₱40.07

-12.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.76 ₱48.61

553.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.21 ₱13.36

1485.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.48 ₱158

116.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.01 ₱64.3

42.57%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

-1.11%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

24.05%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$161 ₱10.3K

-47.49%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$14.33 ₱916

63.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$23.93 ₱1,529

19.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$18.53 ₱1,184

207.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$12.48 ₱797

131.65%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$5.63 ₱360

-8.70%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$71.9 ₱4,591

187.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$1,239 ₱79.1K

217.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$15.94 ₱1,018

171.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$22.67 ₱1,449

82.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$53.8 ₱3,440

37.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$39.82 ₱2,544

124.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$71.1 ₱4,544

435.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$156 ₱9,995

991.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$93.3 ₱5,961

1052.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,500 ₱159.7K

57.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,573 ₱100.5K

291.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$185 ₱11.8K

296.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

63.57%

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 Batangas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Batangas

$71 11.7% 81.3% $310

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Batangas

$185 30.3% 27.4% $70

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Batangas

$60 9.9% 70.2% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Batangas

$200 32.8% 46% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Batangas

$60 9.8% 46.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Batangas

$30 4.9% 55.8% $38

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Batangas

$4.3 * 0.7% 91.4% $46

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $19 in Batangas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $185 per month, with Batangas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Batangas

🕒 Local time

14:59 2:59 PM

03:59 3:59 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

329,874

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Batangas 15,110 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Batangas

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 Batangas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $610 in Batangas, so Batangas is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $610 in Batangas – Batangas is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $610 in Batangas versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Batangas but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Batangas 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.

It comes down to priorities – Batangas wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.