Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Calella

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,596 in Calella, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Calella
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Calella Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Calella

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,596

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,596 in Calella, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Calella $1,596

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,366 in Calella, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Calella $2,366

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,137 in Calella, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Calella $3,137

Playa del Carmen is about 25% cheaper than Calella, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Calella is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$14.73 €13.15

-26.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$824

$56.4 €50.3

-21.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$219

$8.03 €7.16

46.45%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.6

$2.49 €2.22

47.79%

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

$1.34 MX$25.01

$2.33 €2.08

-42.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.38

$1.79 €1.60

-54.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.1

$3.46 €3.09

-11.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.1

$3.31 €2.96

49.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.41

$1.11 €0.99

32.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.32

$2.09 €1.86

6.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.57

$2.88 €2.57

-48.61%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.41

$3.03 €2.71

-17.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$14.61 €13.04

-48.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$148

$8.31 €7.42

-4.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$15.33 €13.68

-18.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$2.48 €2.21

12.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.61

$1.97 €1.76

-27.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.81

$1.58 €1.41

65.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.85

$2.42 €2.16

-11.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.72

$1.79 €1.60

12.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.08

$1.86 €1.66

6.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.20

$1.38 €1.23

-17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.38

$0.62 €0.55

93.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.4

$6.96 €6.21

-38.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$5.56 €4.96

80.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.67

$1.07 €0.95

43.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.62

$2.43 €2.17

9.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.82

$1.46 €1.31

-63.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$513

$31.71 €28.30

-13.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.4

$3.77 €3.36

29.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.1

$1.24 €1.11

176.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$100

$14.51 €12.95

-62.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.00

$1.83 €1.63

-20.77%

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

$21.2K MX$394.5K

$39.4K €35.2K

-46.30%

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

$23.0K MX$429.2K

$31.0K €27.7K

-25.80%

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

$85.4 MX$1,592

$117 €104

-26.99%

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

$23.46 MX$438

$13.52 €12.07

73.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$530

$25.05 €22.35

13.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,160

$46.23 €41.26

34.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$535

$17.63 €15.73

62.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.2

$8.35 €7.45

-38.92%

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

$201 MX$3,749

$560 €499

-64.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.6K

$9,945 €8,876

-60.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$828

$62.6 €55.9

-29.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$771

$21.12 €18.85

95.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,356

$114 €102

-36.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,671

$160 €143

-44.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$904 €806

8.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,950

$684 €611

-45.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.3K

$1,356 €1,210

24.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.4K

$1,011 €902

8.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.6K

$3,081 €2,749

28.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.4K

$1,932 €1,725

217.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

$1,725 €1,539

-57.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.3

246.97%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Calella: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Calella

$684 42.9% 83.5% $311

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Calella

$273 17.1% 5.6% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Calella

$212 13.3% 6% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Calella

$155 9.7% 13.3% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Calella

$161 10.1% 44.1% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Calella

$63 3.9% 13.1% $9.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Calella

$48 3% 8% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $904 in Calella. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Calella are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $56 in Calella. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $273 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Calella

🕒 Local time

04:37 4:37 AM

10:37 10:37 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

19,862

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.65 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Calella 8,480 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Calella

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 Calella: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Calella is pricier by about 33%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,394 in Calella. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $979 in Playa del Carmen and $904 in Calella. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Public transport costs about 13% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $560 in Calella. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Calella at $1,596. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Calella 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,596 in Calella. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Calella makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.