Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Busan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,203 a month against $1,798 in Busan, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Busan
Learn more

Busan Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,203

/mo nomad

Busan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,798

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,203 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,798 in Busan.

Playa del Carmen $1,203
Busan $1,798

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,084 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,951 in Busan.

Playa del Carmen $2,084
Busan $2,951

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,965 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,104 in Busan.

Playa del Carmen $2,965
Busan $4,104

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 33% less than in Busan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Busan is 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.72 MX$199

$7.67 ₩10.2K

39.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.71 MX$794

$49.50 ₩66.0K

-13.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.86 MX$221

$6.60 ₩8,809

79.70%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.7

$3.73 ₩4,982

1.88%

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

$1.29 MX$23.92

$1.77 ₩2,365

-27.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.30

$1.40 ₩1,875

-41.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 MX$57.1

$3.80 ₩5,066

-19.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 MX$92.7

$4.37 ₩5,832

14.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.66

$2.29 ₩3,056

-34.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 MX$42.06

$3.14 ₩4,192

-28.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MX$25.95

$3.12 ₩4,159

-55.13%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$45.95

$2.62 ₩3,492

-5.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.25 MX$135

$10.99 ₩14.7K

-34.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.09 MX$150

$10.40 ₩13.9K

-22.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 MX$239

$24.69 ₩32.9K

-47.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.89 MX$53.8

$11.01 ₩14.7K

-73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.75

$3.69 ₩4,929

-60.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 MX$48.51

$8.33 ₩11.1K

-68.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 MX$39.60

$6.01 ₩8,019

-64.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.98

$6.12 ₩8,171

-67.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.20

$3.34 ₩4,461

-43.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.45

$2.76 ₩3,681

-58.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 MX$22.95

$1.34 ₩1,791

-8.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MX$82.7

$3.32 ₩4,433

34.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.61 MX$179

$18.81 ₩25.1K

-48.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 MX$29.75

$2.38 ₩3,173

-32.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 MX$49.88

$3.67 ₩4,899

-26.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.51

$1.15 ₩1,534

-50.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.54 MX$493

$68.6 ₩91.5K

-61.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.79 MX$89.1

$3.61 ₩4,816

32.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.29 MX$61.2

$0.63 ₩844

422.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$14.96 ₩20.0K

-63.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.22

$1.43 ₩1,906

2.10%

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

$21.1K MX$392.0K

$39.8K ₩53.1M

-47.05%

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

$23.4K MX$435.6K

$33.1K ₩44.1M

-29.10%

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

$83.9 MX$1,560

$197 ₩262.5K

-57.34%

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

$23.11 MX$430

$36.58 ₩48.8K

-36.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.32 MX$527

$26.77 ₩35.7K

5.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 MX$980

$42.05 ₩56.1K

25.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.94 MX$575

$10.18 ₩13.6K

203.93%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.2

$11.89 ₩15.9K

-58.28%

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

$203 MX$3,780

$639 ₩852.1K

-68.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,245 MX$97.5K

$22.1K ₩29.4M

-76.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.12 MX$820

$106 ₩140.9K

-58.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.37 MX$769

$66.1 ₩88.1K

-37.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.8 MX$1,372

$93.6 ₩124.9K

-21.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,673

$126 ₩168.7K

-28.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$988 MX$18.4K

$742 ₩990.7K

33.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,109

$563 ₩751.8K

-32.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,667 MX$31.0K

$2,181 ₩2.9M

-23.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,085 MX$20.2K

$1,399 ₩1.9M

-22.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,942 MX$73.3K

$5,334 ₩7.1M

-26.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,102 MX$113.4K

$3,295 ₩4.4M

85.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$907 MX$16.9K

$2,595 ₩3.5M

-65.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.22

171.33%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 8, 2026

Last update for Busan: November 9, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Busan

$563 31.3% 47.3% $181

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.6%

Busan

$486 27% 87.1% $226

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$201 16.7%

Busan

$166 9.3% 17.1% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$135 11.3%

Busan

$260 14.5% 92.1% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Busan

$176 9.8% 57.1% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$63 5.2%

Busan

$66 3.7% 5.1% $3.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Busan

$80 4.5% 59.7% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $988 in Playa del Carmen and $742 in Busan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Busan pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $49 in Busan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $486 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Busan

🕒 Local time

21:43 9:43 PM

11:43 11:43 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,586,079

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.85 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.49 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.75 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 18.59 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.63 MXN (100 MXN = 4.85 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1,334 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.49 USD). 1 EUR = 1,481 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Busan 12,730 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Busan

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 Busan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Busan. 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 65% 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: $988 in Playa del Carmen versus $742 in Busan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 61% less than in Busan. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $203 in Playa del Carmen versus $639 in Busan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,203 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,798 in Busan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Busan. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Busan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.