Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cagayan de Oro City

For one person, living is cheaper in Cagayan de Oro City: $801 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Cagayan de Oro City
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Cagayan de Oro City Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cagayan de Oro City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$801

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Cagayan de Oro City

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 Cagayan de Oro City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $801 in Cagayan de Oro City.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cagayan de Oro City $801

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,142 in Cagayan de Oro City.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cagayan de Oro City $1,142

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,484 in Cagayan de Oro City.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cagayan de Oro City $1,484

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 50% more expensive than in Cagayan de Oro City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Cagayan de Oro City 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.52 ₱224

210.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$12.33 ₱786

251.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$2.89 ₱184

307.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.26 ₱144

68.58%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.69 ₱43.93

85.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.66 ₱42.31

18.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.33 ₱84.7

138.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.00 ₱127

146.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.44 ₱91.7

-2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.89 ₱56.4

149.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.91 ₱57.7

56.04%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.06 ₱131

22.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.08 ₱515

-10.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$3.25 ₱207

136.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$5.77 ₱368

119.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.13 ₱136

30.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.05 ₱67.1

30.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.30 ₱146

10.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.12 ₱71.4

89.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.97 ₱126

-1.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.57 ₱164

-26.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.76 ₱48.37

51.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.47 ₱30.23

151.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.92 ₱186

47.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$3.93 ₱251

153.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.26 ₱80.4

25.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.92 ₱122

39.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.29 ₱18.27

89.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$11.49 ₱732

131.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.62 ₱39.29

701.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.22 ₱14.04

1413.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.90 ₱121

182.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.01 ₱64.6

42.57%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

-0.91%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

22.63%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$131 ₱8,367

-35.46%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$22.03 ₱1,403

6.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$30.16 ₱1,921

-4.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$24.12 ₱1,536

136.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$2.80 ₱178

932.50%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$4.35 ₱277

18.16%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$64.3 ₱4,098

221.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$2,231 ₱142.1K

76.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$31.70 ₱2,019

36.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$13.22 ₱842

213.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$50.4 ₱3,210

47.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$39.53 ₱2,518

125.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$424 ₱27.0K

130.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$267 ₱17.0K

42.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$667 ₱42.5K

155.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$441 ₱28.1K

143.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,562 ₱99.5K

152.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$955 ₱60.9K

544.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$307 ₱19.6K

139.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.75

69.63%

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 Cagayan de Oro City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cagayan de Oro City

$267 33.3% 29.9% $114

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cagayan de Oro City

$162 20.3% 36.2% $92

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cagayan de Oro City

$80 10% 60.4% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cagayan de Oro City

$184 22.9% 34.1% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cagayan de Oro City

$61 7.6% 45.7% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cagayan de Oro City

$33 4.1% 51.2% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cagayan de Oro City

$14 1.8% 71.5% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $424 in Cagayan de Oro City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $12 in Cagayan de Oro City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $162 per month, with Cagayan de Oro City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Cagayan de Oro City

🕒 Local time

03:12 3:12 AM

16:12 4:12 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

728,402

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.08 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cagayan de Oro City 15,270 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cagayan de Oro City

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 Cagayan de Oro City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $801 in Cagayan de Oro City, so Cagayan de Oro City is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $424 in Cagayan de Oro City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cagayan de Oro City – a meal for two runs $12 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $801 in Cagayan de Oro City versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Cagayan de Oro City but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Cagayan de Oro City 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 Cagayan de Oro City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.