Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Belize City

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,236 in Belize City, rent and utilities included – about $380 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Belize City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Belize City
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Belize City Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Belize City

🇧🇿 Belize

$1,236

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Belize City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,236 in Belize City.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Belize City $1,236

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,798 in Belize City.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Belize City $1,798

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,360 in Belize City.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Belize City $2,360

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 3% less than in Belize City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Belize City 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.40 BZD 12.81

70.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$49.73 BZD 99.5

-12.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.65 BZD 19.30

22.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.59 BZD 7.17

6.13%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.72 BZD 3.44

-25.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.41 BZD 2.83

-44.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.59 BZD 5.17

22.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.06 BZD 6.13

61.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$3.68 BZD 7.36

-61.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.51 BZD 5.03

-11.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.45 BZD 6.91

-58.84%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.65 BZD 7.30

-30.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.54 BZD 13.08

11.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$9.80 BZD 19.61

-21.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.11 BZD 18.22

39.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.70 BZD 5.39

2.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.85 BZD 3.70

-25.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.70 BZD 5.40

-5.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$3.01 BZD 6.02

-29.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$4.06 BZD 8.12

-52.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.76 BZD 5.52

-31.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$2.27 BZD 4.55

-49.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.58 BZD 3.16

-25.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$4.52 BZD 9.05

-4.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.93 BZD 19.87

0.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.38 BZD 4.76

-33.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.02 BZD 4.04

32.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$4.03 BZD 8.06

-86.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$4.92 BZD 9.85

1.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.49 BZD 4.98

-42.17%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$10.7K BZD 21.4K

93.14%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$376 BZD 753

-77.48%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$50.3 BZD 101

-53.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$27.00 BZD 54.0

6.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$24.75 BZD 49.51

130.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$2.45 BZD 4.89

1080.00%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.07 BZD 10.15

1.38%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$65.5 BZD 131

215.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$684 BZD 1,369

474.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$32.81 BZD 65.6

32.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$24.95 BZD 49.90

66.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$37.57 BZD 75.2

97.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$37.85 BZD 75.7

135.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$344 BZD 687

185.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$193 BZD 386

97.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$563 BZD 1,127

203.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$321 BZD 641

235.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$849 BZD 1,698

-13.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.5

-0.43%

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 Belize City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Belize City

$193 15.6% 49.3% $188

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Belize City

$318 25.8% 24.9% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Belize City

$155 12.5% 23.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Belize City

$454 36.7% 232% $317

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Belize City

$60 4.9% 46.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Belize City

$35 2.8% 48.2% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Belize City

$21 * 1.7% 58.3% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $344 in Belize City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Belize City pays 16% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $50 in Belize City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $318 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇿 Belize City

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

19:37 7:37 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

63,999

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Belize Dollar BZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 BZD = 0.5 USD

1 BZD = 0.448 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Belize Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BZD (1 BZD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.23 BZD (1 BZD = 0.448 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Belize City 370 km

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Playa del Carmen
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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 Belize City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Belize City. 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 13% 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 $344 in Belize City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Belize City. 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 $1,236 in Belize City – Playa del Carmen is about 3% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Belize City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.