Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Buzias

For one person, living is cheaper in Buzias: $992 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Buzias
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Buzias Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Buzias

🇷🇴 Romania

$992

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $992 in Buzias, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Buzias $992

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,519 in Buzias, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Buzias $1,519

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,046 in Buzias, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Buzias $2,046

Playa del Carmen costs about 21% more than Buzias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Buzias are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Buzias 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$8.56 RON 41.16

27.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$42.87 RON 206

1.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.24 RON 34.78

62.71%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.12 RON 15.00

22.12%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.03 RON 9.76

-36.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.75 RON 8.42

-55.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.13 RON 15.03

1.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.00 RON 19.21

23.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.38 RON 6.62

2.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.10 RON 5.28

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.39 RON 6.69

2.16%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.36 RON 16.13

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.92 RON 38.08

-8.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.01 RON 28.86

28.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.69 RON 36.97

65.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.17 RON 5.61

137.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.55 RON 7.46

-11.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.43 RON 6.89

78.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.53 RON 12.16

-16.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.65 RON 3.11

198.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.64 RON 3.08

195.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.03 RON 4.93

11.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.90 RON 4.33

31.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$5.83 RON 28.02

-26.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.54 RON 36.23

31.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.99 RON 4.77

59.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.35 RON 6.47

97.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.72 RON 3.45

-23.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$21.30 RON 102

24.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.93 RON 4.46

434.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.80 RON 3.86

316.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.24 RON 39.61

-34.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.93 RON 9.28

-25.39%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$28.0K RON 134.7K

-26.26%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$25.5K RON 122.3K

-7.80%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$116 RON 558

-26.92%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$9.29 RON 44.63

151.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$12.08 RON 58.1

137.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.51 RON 180

52.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$20.56 RON 98.8

40.61%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.96 RON 33.43

-26.15%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$450 RON 2,161

-54.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,606 RON 31.7K

-40.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$74.0 RON 355

-41.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$31.70 RON 152

30.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$87.2 RON 419

-14.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$88.2 RON 424

1.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$386 RON 1,853

154.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$286 RON 1,374

33.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$592 RON 2,846

188.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$440 RON 2,113

144.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,866 RON 8,969

111.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,363 RON 6,552

351.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.02

63.11%

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 Buzias: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Buzias

$286 28.8% 24.9% $95

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Buzias

$195 19.7% 23.4% $60

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Buzias

$166 16.8% 17.8% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Buzias

$137 13.9% 0.4% $0.5

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Buzias

$126 12.8% 13.2% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Buzias

$51 5.2% 23.6% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Buzias

$29 2.9% 42.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $386 in Buzias. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $43 in Buzias. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $195 in Buzias – so Buzias wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Buzias

🕒 Local time

15:00 3:00 PM

22:00 10:00 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Buzias 9,740 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Buzias

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 Buzias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 21%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,488 in Buzias. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Buzias, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $386 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $992 in Buzias. That makes Buzias about 18% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $450 in Buzias. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $992 in Buzias to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.