Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Butuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Butuan: $569 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Butuan
Learn more

Butuan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Butuan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $569 in Butuan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Butuan $569

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $899 in Butuan.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Butuan $899

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,229 in Butuan.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Butuan $1,229

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 111% more expensive than in Butuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Butuan 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.66 ₱298

134.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$26.45 ₱1,690

63.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$2.32 ₱149

407.76%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.04 ₱131

86.76%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.30 ₱19.14

326.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.24 ₱15.34

225.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.58 ₱101

100.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.37 ₱151

108.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.92 ₱123

-26.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.11 ₱71.0

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.90 ₱57.2

57.78%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.83 ₱117

37.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.42 ₱410

13.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.75 ₱303

62.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.41 ₱601

34.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.65 ₱170

4.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.09 ₱69.7

25.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.40 ₱153

6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.17 ₱74.6

81.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.97 ₱126

-1.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$3.40 ₱218

-44.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.18 ₱75.3

-2.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.70 ₱44.69

68.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.42 ₱155

77.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.68 ₱491

29.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.27 ₱81.3

24.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.60 ₱103

66.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.81 ₱51.7

513.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.24 ₱15.38

1287.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$1.93 ₱124

177.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.06 ₱68.0

35.85%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$20.8K ₱1.3M

-0.57%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

22.68%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$106 ₱6,755

-19.80%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$18.42 ₱1,177

27.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$30.63 ₱1,957

-6.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$23.59 ₱1,507

141.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.18 ₱267

22.97%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$106 ₱6,768

95.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,473 ₱477.5K

-47.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$59.6 ₱3,805

-27.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$30.15 ₱1,926

37.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$69.0 ₱4,410

7.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$60.7 ₱3,878

47.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.31

37.79%

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 Butuan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Butuan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Butuan

$198 34.9% 22.1% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Butuan

$84 14.7% 58.7% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Butuan

$155 27.2% 13.1% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Butuan

$99 17.3% 11.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Butuan

$32 5.6% 52.6% $35

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Butuan

$2 * 0.4% 96% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $26 in Butuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $198 per month, with Butuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Butuan

🕒 Local time

17:28 5:28 PM

06:28 6:28 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

337,063

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Butuan 15,160 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Butuan

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 Butuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Butuan wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Butuan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $854 in Butuan 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.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $106 in Butuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Butuan – a meal for two runs $26 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $569 in Butuan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Butuan but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Butuan 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.