Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Budva

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,611 in Budva, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
78

Cost of Living Index in Budva
Learn more

Budva Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Budva

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,611 in Budva, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Budva $1,611

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,529 in Budva, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Budva $2,529

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,447 in Budva, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Budva $3,447

Playa del Carmen is about 25% cheaper than Budva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Budva is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$14.76 €13.13

-27.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$66.5 €59.1

-35.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$13.27 €11.80

-11.15%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.39 €3.02

14.16%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.21 €1.96

-38.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.52 €1.35

-44.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$4.69 €4.17

-33.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.27 €3.80

18.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.25 €1.11

15.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.06 €0.95

110.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.21 €1.97

-33.48%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.07 €2.73

-17.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.50 €7.56

-14.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.08 €8.08

-13.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$12.17 €10.83

5.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.28 €1.14

126.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.75 €1.56

-17.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.52 €1.35

67.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.78 €2.47

-25.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.85 €0.76

135.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.07 €0.95

87.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.67 €1.48

-28.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.94 €0.84

34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.42 €3.93

-0.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.67 €6.82

25.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.06 €0.94

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.74 €1.55

61.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.84 €2.53

-79.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$39.74 €35.34

-29.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.11 €0.98

348.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.09 €0.97

221.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$16.85 €14.99

-67.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.70 €1.51

-13.53%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$28.5K €25.4K

-26.41%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$25.8K €22.9K

-7.27%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$158 €140

-46.61%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$14.92 €13.27

60.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$33.61 €29.90

-13.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$57.1 €50.8

10.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$21.24 €18.89

37.19%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.19 €5.50

-20.19%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$407 €362

-49.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$9,855 €8,766

-60.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$105 €93.3

-58.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$44.04 €39.17

-2.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$96.8 €86.1

-21.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$178 €159

-50.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$846 €752

19.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$606 €539

-38.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,499 €1,333

14.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,149 €1,022

-3.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$4,046 €3,599

-2.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,920 €2,597

111.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,028 €915

-26.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.95

92.44%

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 Budva: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Budva

$606 37.6% 62.1% $232

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Budva

$235 14.6% 8.9% $23

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Budva

$246 15.2% 21.4% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Budva

$206 12.8% 50.3% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Budva

$191 11.9% 69% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Budva

$69 4.3% 4.7% $3.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Budva

$58 3.6% 9.7% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $846 in Budva. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 36% higher in Budva, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $66.0 in Budva. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $235 in Budva – so Budva wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇪 Budva

🕒 Local time

12:35 12:35 PM

19:35 7:35 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,338

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Budva 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Budva

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 Budva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $1,611 in Budva – roughly 33% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,417 in Budva. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,611 in Budva. That's a gap of about 33%.

Public transport costs about 43% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Budva at $1,611. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budva it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $1,611 in Budva. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Budva makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.