Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bonao

For one person, living is cheaper in Bonao: $686 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Bonao
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Bonao Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Bonao

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$686

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $686 in Bonao.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Bonao $686

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,131 in Bonao.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Bonao $1,131

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,575 in Bonao.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Bonao $1,575

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 76% more expensive than in Bonao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Bonao 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$9.71 DOP 595

10.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$49.73 DOP 3,047

-13.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.65 DOP 468

54.12%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.00 DOP 123

93.50%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.05 DOP 64.6

30.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.60 DOP 36.58

40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.44 DOP 149

27.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.14 DOP 192

61.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.03 DOP 63.3

39.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.04 DOP 63.6

114.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.66 DOP 40.65

122.73%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.21 DOP 74.1

109.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$5.01 DOP 307

45.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.61 DOP 344

40.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$6.51 DOP 399

96.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.36 DOP 145

22.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$0.63 DOP 38.55

128.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.69 DOP 165

-5.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.37 DOP 83.8

50.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.97 DOP 121

1.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.57 DOP 95.9

28.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.00 DOP 61.0

19.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.51 DOP 31.40

147.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$5.24 DOP 321

-16.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.14 DOP 437

34.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.18 DOP 133

-27.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.91 DOP 178

-3.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.58 DOP 35.60

-1.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$34.07 DOP 2,087

-18.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.12 DOP 191

59.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.17 DOP 133

61.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$2.41 DOP 147

124.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.40 DOP 85.5

5.00%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$22.8K DOP 1.4M

-8.02%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$34.1K DOP 2.1M

-29.91%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$92.9 DOP 5,691

-9.35%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$31.91 DOP 1,955

-24.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$35.96 DOP 2,203

-19.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.33 DOP 449

-32.61%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$248 DOP 15.2K

-18.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$7,364 DOP 451.1K

-46.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$45.46 DOP 2,785

-4.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$46.18 DOP 2,829

-6.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$86.4 DOP 5,291

-12.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$126 DOP 7,698

-29.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

13.56

-15.56%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bonao: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Bonao

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Bonao

$174 25.4% 32.6% $84

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Bonao

$150 21.8% 26% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Bonao

$161 23.4% 17.2% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Bonao

$137 19.9% 20.9% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Bonao

$15 * 2.1% 79.9% $58

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Bonao

$50 7.3% 4.2% $2.2

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $50.0 in Bonao. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $174, with Bonao cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇴 Bonao

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

11:06 11:06 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

158,034

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Bonao 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bonao

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 Bonao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Bonao differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $686 including rent). Bonao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,816 in Playa del Carmen and $1,029 in Bonao to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

A monthly transit pass in Bonao runs roughly 22% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $248 in Bonao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $686 in Bonao versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bonao but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Bonao 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 Bonao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.