Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Boryeong

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,481 in Boryeong, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in Boryeong
Learn more

Boryeong Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Boryeong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,481

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,481 in Boryeong.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Boryeong $1,481

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,530 in Boryeong.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Boryeong $2,530

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,579 in Boryeong.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Boryeong $3,579

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 19% less than in Boryeong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Boryeong is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$9.15 ₩12.3K

16.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$68.3 ₩91.5K

-35.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.41 ₩9,934

59.11%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.98 ₩5,330

-4.77%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.61 ₩2,161

-19.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.81 ₩1,080

2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.76 ₩5,042

-16.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$5.92 ₩7,931

-16.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.03 ₩2,723

-30.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.13 ₩4,199

-29.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$4.11 ₩5,508

-64.23%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.68 ₩4,940

-32.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$17.86 ₩23.9K

-59.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$10.25 ₩13.7K

-22.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$25.64 ₩34.4K

-49.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$7.71 ₩10.3K

-62.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$3.36 ₩4,506

-58.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$5.79 ₩7,765

-56.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$6.14 ₩8,228

-66.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.57 ₩4,786

-43.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.60 ₩3,485

-26.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.77 ₩3,719

-58.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.14 ₩1,525

8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.26 ₩4,376

30.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$18.75 ₩25.1K

-47.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.25 ₩3,018

-29.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.30 ₩4,429

-16.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.96 ₩1,291

-46.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.53 ₩4,728

34.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.61 ₩818

432.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.79 ₩11.8K

-38.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.50 ₩2,011

2.00%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.7K ₩39.9M

-28.69%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$28.0K ₩37.5M

-16.86%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$208 ₩279.0K

-59.88%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$34.81 ₩46.7K

-33.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$21.13 ₩28.3K

30.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$45.39 ₩60.8K

24.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$15.15 ₩20.3K

86.07%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$11.05 ₩14.8K

-54.75%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$449 ₩602.2K

-53.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$26.4K ₩35.4M

-80.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$62.7 ₩84.0K

-30.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$33.67 ₩45.1K

26.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$69.3 ₩92.8K

5.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$81.9 ₩109.8K

7.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$462 ₩619.5K

115.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$371 ₩497.4K

3.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,203 ₩1.6M

39.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,051 ₩1.4M

2.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$6,314 ₩8.5M

-38.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$4,976 ₩6.7M

23.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,505 ₩2.0M

-44.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.08

180.64%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Boryeong: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Boryeong

$371 25.1% 3% $11

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Boryeong

$473 32% 83.8% $216

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Boryeong

$183 12.4% 8.4% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Boryeong

$264 17.8% 96.6% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Boryeong

$111 7.5% 0.2% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Boryeong

$67 4.6% 1.6% $1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Boryeong

$10 * 0.7% 79.3% $40

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 $995 in Playa del Carmen and $462 in Boryeong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Boryeong pays 81% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $68 in Boryeong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $473 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Boryeong

🕒 Local time

02:00 2:00 AM

16:00 4:00 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

103,620

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,341 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,509 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Boryeong 12,760 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Boryeong

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 Boryeong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,481 in Boryeong, so Playa del Carmen is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 45% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $462 in Boryeong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $449 in Boryeong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $68 in Boryeong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Boryeong on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.