Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Buenaventura

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,391 in Buenaventura, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Buenaventura
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Buenaventura Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Buenaventura

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,391

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,391 in Buenaventura, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Buenaventura $1,391

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,090 in Buenaventura, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Buenaventura $2,090

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,790 in Buenaventura, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Buenaventura $2,790

Playa del Carmen is about 14% cheaper than Buenaventura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Buenaventura is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.15 COP 23.2K

49.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$47.85 COP 155.2K

-8.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$9.63 COP 31.2K

22.43%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.63 COP 8,521

44.11%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.37 COP 4,442

-5.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.07 COP 3,483

-22.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.19 COP 10.3K

-1.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.66 COP 11.9K

34.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.50 COP 4,862

-6.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.46 COP 7,974

-10.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.73 COP 5,624

-15.03%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$3.05 COP 9,876

-18.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.20 COP 26.6K

-11.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$9.63 COP 31.2K

-17.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$12.33 COP 40.0K

4.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.66 COP 11.9K

-20.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.47 COP 4,775

-6.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$1.93 COP 6,255

29.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$2.04 COP 6,609

-0.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.60 COP 5,196

26.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.47 COP 4,767

29.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.18 COP 3,827

-3.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$1.19 COP 3,875

4.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.14 COP 13.4K

3.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.45 COP 43.6K

-27.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.51 COP 4,880

5.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.29 COP 7,417

20.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.12 COP 3,617

-54.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$65.5 COP 212.3K

-58.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.55 COP 5,025

207.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.12 COP 6,863

53.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.50 COP 27.5K

-36.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.30 COP 4,225

17.69%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$34.3K COP 111.1M

-38.07%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$34.2K COP 111.0M

-32.06%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$126 COP 409.8K

-33.94%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$13.41 COP 43.5K

72.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$28.93 COP 93.8K

-4.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$38.30 COP 124.2K

47.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.10 COP 23.0K

-29.58%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$594 COP 1.9M

-65.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$8,415 COP 27.3M

-37.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$85.3 COP 276.4K

-49.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$53.1 COP 172.0K

-19.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$135 COP 436.4K

-45.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$101 COP 327.9K

-12.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$709 COP 2.3M

40.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$489 COP 1.6M

-21.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,416 COP 4.6M

18.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$787 COP 2.6M

37.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,243 COP 7.3M

74.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,731 COP 5.6M

254.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-4.58%

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 Buenaventura: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Buenaventura

$489 35.2% 28% $107

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Buenaventura

$279 20.1% 8.5% $22

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Buenaventura

$151 10.8% 24.8% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Buenaventura

$169 12.1% 25.6% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Buenaventura

$168 12.1% 51.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Buenaventura

$52 3.8% 21% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Buenaventura

$82 5.9% 62.7% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $709 in Buenaventura. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $48 in Buenaventura. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $279 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 Buenaventura

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

365,607

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, 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).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,242 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,650 COP (10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Buenaventura 2,150 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Buenaventura

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 Buenaventura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $1,391 in Buenaventura – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 14% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,086 in Buenaventura. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Buenaventura, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $709 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 8% more in Buenaventura, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $48 in Buenaventura. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,391 in Buenaventura. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.