Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Busselton

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,622 in Busselton, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Busselton
Learn more

Busselton Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Busselton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,622

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,622 in Busselton.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Busselton $2,622

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,738 in Busselton.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Busselton $3,738

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,853 in Busselton.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Busselton $4,853

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 54% less than in Busselton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Busselton is 93% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$17.71 A$25.17

-38.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$85.7 A$122

-49.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.46 A$14.86

12.62%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.61 A$6.55

-17.35%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.06 A$2.92

-37.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.15 A$3.06

-63.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$8.16 A$11.59

-61.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$8.65 A$12.29

-43.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.69 A$2.40

-16.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$3.24 A$4.60

-31.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.03 A$2.89

-30.05%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$5.29 A$7.51

-52.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.02 A$12.82

-19.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.45 A$13.43

-18.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$13.73 A$19.51

-7.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.59 A$6.53

-39.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.23 A$4.59

-57.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.55 A$5.05

-28.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$4.99 A$7.09

-57.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.91 A$4.13

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.97 A$2.80

-4.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.22 A$3.16

-48.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.35 A$1.91

-12.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$41.77 A$59.4

-89.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.58 A$17.88

-20.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$4.34 A$6.16

-63.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.42 A$4.87

-21.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.83 A$4.02

-80.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$75.3 A$107

-64.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.72 A$5.28

33.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.46 A$2.08

128.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$40.47 A$57.5

-86.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.36 A$1.94

5.88%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$29.6K A$42.1K

-30.25%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$27.3K A$38.7K

-13.94%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$205 A$291

-58.64%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$33.45 A$47.53

-30.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$64.7 A$92.0

-55.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$54.5 A$77.5

4.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$19.77 A$28.10

46.23%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$17.48 A$24.84

-70.59%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$2,269 A$3,224

-90.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$23.0K A$32.7K

-82.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$78.1 A$111

-44.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$63.0 A$89.6

-34.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$123 A$175

-39.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$161 A$228

-44.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,288 A$1,830

-23.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$1,270 A$1,805

-70.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,366 A$3,362

-27.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,815 A$2,580

-40.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$5,978 A$8,494

-34.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$4,879 A$6,932

26.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.96

92.11%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Busselton: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Busselton

$1.3K 48.5% 234% $889

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Busselton

$367 14% 44% $112

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Busselton

$303 11.6% 49.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Busselton

$303 11.6% 122% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Busselton

$191 7.3% 71.2% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Busselton

$89 3.4% 32.9% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Busselton

$98 3.7% 93.5% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,288 in Busselton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $86 in Busselton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $367 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Busselton

🕒 Local time

15:49 3:49 PM

04:49 4:49 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

27,233

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Busselton 17,380 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Busselton

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 Busselton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,622 in Busselton, so Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $3,933 in Busselton 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,288 in Busselton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,269 in Busselton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Busselton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,622 in Busselton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Busselton. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Busselton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.