Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Calama

For one person, living is cheaper in Calama: $593 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Calama
Learn more

Calama Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Calama

🇨🇱 Chile

$593

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $593 in Calama.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Calama $593

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,202 in Calama.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Calama $1,202

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,812 in Calama.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Calama $1,812

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 103% more expensive than in Calama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Calama 56% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$6.95 CLP 6,785

53.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$31.55 CLP 30.8K

38.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.4

$2.10 CLP 2,049

80.48%

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

$1.30 MX$24.12

$0.96 CLP 933

35.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.50

$0.91 CLP 887

-8.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.5

$3.03 CLP 2,952

3.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$5.14 CLP 5,011

-4.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.09 CLP 1,062

29.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.83

$0.78 CLP 763

182.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.39

$2.70 CLP 2,638

-45.56%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.43

$4.85 CLP 4,729

-48.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$9.10 CLP 8,882

-19.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$6.14 CLP 5,988

29.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.73 CLP 7,539

66.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.23 CLP 1,201

135.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.73

$1.04 CLP 1,015

32.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.32

$1.58 CLP 1,537

57.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.10 CLP 1,077

84.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$0.89 CLP 867

126.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.40

$0.93 CLP 911

104.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.28

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.04

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.4

$5.15 CLP 5,026

-17.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$3.96 CLP 3,862

147.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.49

$1.00 CLP 974

59.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.25 CLP 1,217

120.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.89 CLP 871

-42.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.4

$1.43 CLP 1,400

127.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.42

$1.45 CLP 1,416

5.52%

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

$21.2K MX$394.5K

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

$23.3K MX$432.6K

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

$83.5 MX$1,553

$41.47 CLP 40.5K

101.33%

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

$23.19 MX$431

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$13.20 CLP 12.9K

109.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$50.4 CLP 49.2K

11.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

$20.09 CLP 19.6K

40.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.0

$4.47 CLP 4,359

11.86%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$303 CLP 295.7K

-31.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$808

$35.44 CLP 34.6K

22.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$791

$28.01 CLP 27.3K

51.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,353

$45.68 CLP 44.6K

59.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,644

$60.1 CLP 58.7K

46.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$336 CLP 327.4K

196.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,112

$104 CLP 101.4K

268.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$808 CLP 788.9K

107.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$619 CLP 603.7K

74.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,401 CLP 1.4M

179.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.1K

$1,217 CLP 1.2M

404.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,133 CLP 1.1M

-26.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

129.00%

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 Calama: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Calama

$104 17.5% 72.8% $279

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Calama

$174 * 29.4% 32.3% $83

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Calama

$114 * 19.2% 43.2% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Calama

$55 * 9.2% 59.3% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Calama

$76 12.9% 31.5% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Calama

$59 10% 10.7% $7.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Calama

$11 * 1.8% 78.7% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $336 in Calama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calama pays 36% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $32 in Calama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $174 per month, with Calama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇱 Calama

🕒 Local time

21:59 9:59 PM

23:59 11:59 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

157,575

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.25 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.17 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 976 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,090 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.17 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Calama 5,180 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Calama

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 Calama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calama wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Calama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $336 in Calama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $593 in Calama – Calama is about 51% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $593 in Calama versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Calama but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Calama 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.