Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Calarasi, Romania

Name: Calarasi
Address: Calarasi, RO

For one person, living is cheaper in Calarasi: $884 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Calarasi
Learn more

Calarasi Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Calarasi

🇷🇴 Romania

$884

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $884 in Calarasi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Calarasi $884

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,366 in Calarasi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Calarasi $1,366

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,848 in Calarasi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Calarasi $1,848

Playa del Carmen costs about 36% more than Calarasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Calarasi are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Calarasi 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$8.87 RON 42.27

23.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$33.46 RON 160

29.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.54 RON 35.94

56.23%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$2.08 RON 9.89

83.17%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.83 RON 8.73

-30.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$1.72 RON 8.18

-54.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$1.53 RON 7.30

107.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$1.44 RON 6.89

242.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.45 RON 6.90

-2.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$0.92 RON 4.39

141.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.49 RON 7.08

-4.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.71 RON 12.92

-7.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.58 RON 36.15

-4.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.30 RON 20.50

79.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$8.38 RON 39.94

51.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$1.09 RON 5.18

155.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.38 RON 6.60

-0.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.23 RON 5.88

107.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$1.45 RON 6.91

46.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$0.44 RON 2.07

340.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$0.62 RON 2.95

204.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$0.44 RON 2.09

161.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.81 RON 3.86

45.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$6.19 RON 29.50

-30.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$4.23 RON 20.18

135.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$0.98 RON 4.67

61.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$1.38 RON 6.56

93.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.41 RON 1.93

34.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$12.30 RON 58.6

116.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$0.60 RON 2.87

728.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$0.61 RON 2.89

445.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$6.34 RON 30.20

-15.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.62 RON 7.74

-11.11%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$28.3K RON 135.1K

-27.10%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$25.1K RON 119.6K

-6.48%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$163 RON 777

-48.00%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$6.16 RON 29.35

280.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$6.51 RON 31.05

340.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$47.78 RON 228

19.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$51.6 RON 246

-44.02%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$8.22 RON 39.17

-37.47%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$375 RON 1,786

-44.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$5,713 RON 27.2K

-31.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$73.5 RON 350

-40.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$20.65 RON 98.4

100.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$89.8 RON 428

-17.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$95.9 RON 457

-6.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$313 RON 1,493

212.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$191 RON 912

99.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$413 RON 1,968

313.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$327 RON 1,558

228.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$1,190 RON 5,671

231.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$965 RON 4,600

538.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

$728 RON 3,472

0.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.85

45.86%

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 Calarasi: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Calarasi

$191 21.6% 49.8% $190

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Calarasi

$166 18.8% 34.9% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Calarasi

$143 16.2% 29.2% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Calarasi

$176 19.9% 28.4% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Calarasi

$126 14.3% 12.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Calarasi

$64 7.3% 4.6% $3.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Calarasi

$18 2% 65.2% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $313 in Calarasi. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $33 in Calarasi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $166 – making Calarasi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Calarasi

🕒 Local time

00:42 12:42 AM

07:42 7:42 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

65,181

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Calarasi 10,210 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Calarasi

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 Calarasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $884 in Calarasi – Calarasi comes out roughly 27% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,326 in Calarasi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Calarasi, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $313 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $375 in Calarasi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 54% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Calarasi, where all-in costs run around $884, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Calarasi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $884 in Calarasi to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Calarasi is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 27% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.