Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cahul

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $627 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
Learn more

Cahul Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$627

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $627 in Cahul.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cahul $627

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $917 in Cahul.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cahul $917

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,207 in Cahul.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cahul $1,207

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 92% more expensive than in Cahul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Cahul 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$8.19 MDL 146

33.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$23.41 MDL 417

85.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$10.36 MDL 185

13.71%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.69 MDL 30.11

125.44%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.11 MDL 19.82

15.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.53 MDL 9.53

47.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.01 MDL 35.81

57.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$1.76 MDL 31.45

180.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.20 MDL 21.36

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$0.49 MDL 8.72

353.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.60 MDL 28.45

-11.25%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.24 MDL 39.89

12.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.51 MDL 116

11.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.54 MDL 80.9

69.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$6.17 MDL 110

105.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$0.98 MDL 17.39

183.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$2.19 MDL 39.09

-37.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.81 MDL 32.25

40.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.37 MDL 42.33

-10.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.76 MDL 13.54

155.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.52 MDL 9.22

263.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.43 MDL 7.74

167.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.53 MDL 9.50

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$3.39 MDL 60.5

26.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$4.38 MDL 78.1

127.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.41 MDL 25.19

12.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.97 MDL 35.06

35.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.27 MDL 4.81

103.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.87 MDL 51.1

73.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.24 MDL 4.27

1287.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$5.44 MDL 97.0

-1.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.56 MDL 27.74

-7.69%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$33.3K MDL 593.4K

-37.91%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$24.4K MDL 435.5K

-3.93%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$221 MDL 3,948

-61.71%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.65 MDL 136

206.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$11.03 MDL 197

159.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.62 MDL 136

-32.55%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$110 MDL 1,964

87.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,249 MDL 93.6K

-25.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$45.08 MDL 804

-3.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$56.4 MDL 1,005

31.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$51.0 MDL 909

75.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

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$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$507 MDL 9,048

44.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

43.12%

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 Cahul: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cahul

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cahul

$161 25.7% 36.7% $94

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cahul

$137 21.8% 32.3% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cahul

$240 38.3% 75.5% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cahul

$69 * 10.9% 38.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cahul

$15 * 2.4% 77.4% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cahul

$5.1 * 0.8% 89.8% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays 45% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $23 in Cahul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $161 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇩 Cahul

🕒 Local time

03:19 3:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

39,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MDL = 5.61 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 17.83 MDL (100 MDL = 5.61 USD). 1 EUR = 19.9 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cahul 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cahul

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 Cahul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cahul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $627 in Cahul – Cahul is about 48% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $627 in Cahul versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Cahul but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Cahul 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.

It comes down to priorities – Cahul wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.