Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Calafat

For one person, living is cheaper in Calafat: $1,016 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

57

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

Cost of Living Index in Calafat
Learn more

Calafat Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Calafat

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,016

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,016 in Calafat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Calafat $1,016

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,499 in Calafat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Calafat $1,499

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,982 in Calafat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Calafat $1,982

Playa del Carmen costs about 18% more than Calafat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Calafat are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Calafat 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.35 RON 34.96

45.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$38.38 RON 182

14.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.21 RON 34.26

63.52%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.14 RON 10.15

77.10%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.44 RON 6.83

-9.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.87 RON 4.12

-4.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.08 RON 5.12

191.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.83 RON 8.72

169.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.12 RON 5.31

25.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.76 RON 3.63

189.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.35 RON 6.40

8.89%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.33 RON 11.07

7.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$6.69 RON 31.81

8.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$6.35 RON 30.16

25.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.24 RON 29.64

106.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.01 RON 4.80

187.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.49 RON 7.08

-7.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.28 RON 6.06

94.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.44 RON 6.85

40.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.60 RON 2.86

236.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.75 RON 3.57

153.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.69 RON 3.28

65.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.71 RON 3.38

74.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.31 RON 25.22

-19.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.27 RON 29.80

56.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.88 RON 4.16

80.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.45 RON 6.91

89.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.75 RON 3.55

-32.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$22.34 RON 106

22.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.53 RON 2.53

798.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.51 RON 2.42

537.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$9.77 RON 46.44

-44.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.51 RON 7.16

1.32%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$25.5K RON 121.0K

-16.69%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$25.5K RON 121.2K

-8.80%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$214 RON 1,018

-61.03%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$7.55 RON 35.90

207.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$6.33 RON 30.07

336.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$37.82 RON 180

49.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$19.06 RON 90.6

47.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.40 RON 35.17

-32.43%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$412 RON 1,960

-49.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$8,151 RON 38.7K

-35.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$63.5 RON 302

-31.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$42.04 RON 200

1.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$84.2 RON 400

-13.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$83.5 RON 397

5.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$380 RON 1,806

161.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$294 RON 1,399

29.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$617 RON 2,931

171.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$468 RON 2,223

131.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,910 RON 9,080

104.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,190 RON 5,658

415.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$812 RON 3,860

2.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

90.83%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Calafat: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Calafat

$294 29% 23% $88

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Calafat

$165 16.2% 36% $93

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Calafat

$124 12.3% 37.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Calafat

$228 22.5% 69.9% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Calafat

$123 12.1% 10.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Calafat

$53 5.2% 20.8% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Calafat

$28 2.8% 43.7% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $380 in Calafat. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in Calafat. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $165 – making Calafat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Calafat

🕒 Local time

22:04 10:04 PM

05:04 5:04 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

18,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Calafat 9,920 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Calafat

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 Calafat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $1,016 in Calafat – Calafat comes out roughly 16% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,523 in Calafat. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Calafat, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $380 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,016 in Calafat. That makes Calafat about 16% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Calafat. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,016 in Calafat, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,016 in Calafat to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Calafat is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 16% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.