Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cadca

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,400 in Cadca, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cadca outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Cadca
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Cadca Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cadca

🇸🇰 Slovakia

$1,400

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,400 in Cadca, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cadca $1,400

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,002 in Cadca, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cadca $2,002

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,604 in Cadca, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cadca $2,604

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

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Cadca is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$9.54 €8.56

14.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$807

$33.40 €29.96

29.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$10.22 €9.17

15.26%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.9

$2.98 €2.68

27.85%

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

$1.28 MX$23.87

$2.21 €1.98

-42.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.57

$2.02 €1.81

-61.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.41 €2.16

31.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.41 €2.16

104.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.18

$1.04 €0.94

35.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.27

$1.43 €1.28

55.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.38

$1.86 €1.67

-23.66%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.96

$3.52 €3.16

-28.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.08 €9.04

-27.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$8.16 €7.32

-5.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$11.20 €10.05

13.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$1.91 €1.71

45.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.47

$1.98 €1.77

-30.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.49

$2.31 €2.08

10.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.52

$2.73 €2.45

-22.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.08

$1.41 €1.26

37.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.11

$1.61 €1.44

17.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.34

$1.77 €1.59

-35.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.95

$0.83 €0.74

42.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$6.52 €5.85

-34.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$3.39 €3.04

193.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.48

$1.69 €1.52

-6.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.72

$1.75 €1.57

52.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.30

$1.13 €1.02

-51.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$495

$32.06 €28.76

-16.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.5

$3.94 €3.54

26.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.0

$0.41 €0.37

712.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.7

$13.64 €12.24

-60.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.88

$1.72 €1.55

-16.28%

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

$20.7K MX$384.7K

$25.8K €23.2K

-19.99%

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

$23.5K MX$436.8K

$22.7K €20.4K

3.40%

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

$84.8 MX$1,578

$227 €203

-62.59%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$19.24 €17.26

21.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$533

$21.27 €19.08

34.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,062

$41.93 €37.61

36.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$538

$16.41 €14.72

76.17%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$8.80 €7.90

-41.59%

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

$207 MX$3,845

$410 €368

-49.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.1K

$7,353 €6,595

-46.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$807

$59.6 €53.4

-27.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$771

$31.20 €27.99

32.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,381

$79.2 €71.1

-6.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,661

$98.9 €88.7

-9.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$615 €552

59.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,089

$494 €444

-22.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,073 €963

59.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$748 €671

43.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.4K

$3,556 €3,189

10.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.6K

$2,243 €2,012

174.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$834 €748

-11.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.57

220.73%

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 Cadca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cadca

$494 35.3% 29.8% $114

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cadca

$238 17% 6.4% $16

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cadca

$177 12.6% 12.7% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cadca

$267 19.1% 95.2% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cadca

$121 8.6% 8.3% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cadca

$60 4.3% 11.6% $7.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cadca

$43 3% 15.6% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $615 in Cadca. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 13% higher in Cadca, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $33 in Cadca. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $238 – making Cadca the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇰 Cadca

🕒 Local time

12:46 12:46 PM

18:46 6:46 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

24,315

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 18.62 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cadca 9,360 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cadca

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 Cadca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cadca costs about 16% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,100 in Cadca. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cadca, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $615 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 17% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $410 in Cadca. 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,400 in Cadca. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cadca makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.