Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Campina

For one person, living is cheaper in Campina: $923 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Campina
Learn more

Campina Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Campina

🇷🇴 Romania

$923

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $923 in Campina.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Campina $923

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,450 in Campina.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Campina $1,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,977 in Campina.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Campina $1,977

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 31% more expensive than in Campina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Campina 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$10.41 RON 49.62

4.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$42.43 RON 202

2.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.19 RON 34.25

63.84%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.01 RON 14.32

26.58%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$2.04 RON 9.74

-37.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$1.84 RON 8.75

-57.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.50 RON 11.90

26.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$3.42 RON 16.31

44.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.64 RON 7.81

-14.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.14 RON 5.43

94.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.43 RON 6.81

-0.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$3.49 RON 16.61

-27.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$7.75 RON 36.93

-6.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.46 RON 30.77

19.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$7.75 RON 36.94

63.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.23 RON 5.85

126.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.51 RON 7.19

-9.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.43 RON 6.81

78.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$2.60 RON 12.39

-18.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.72 RON 3.45

169.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.60 RON 2.88

215.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.03 RON 4.93

11.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.87 RON 4.16

35.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$6.06 RON 28.88

-29.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$6.96 RON 33.18

42.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$0.94 RON 4.50

68.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.39 RON 6.63

92.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.82 RON 3.90

-32.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$22.01 RON 105

20.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$0.76 RON 3.61

553.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.77 RON 3.67

332.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$6.50 RON 30.97

-17.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.89 RON 9.00

-23.81%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$28.3K RON 134.6K

-26.86%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$24.9K RON 118.9K

-5.93%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$115 RON 550

-26.49%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$6.90 RON 32.85

239.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$11.40 RON 54.3

151.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$52.8 RON 252

7.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$16.73 RON 79.7

72.80%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$6.96 RON 33.15

-26.15%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$403 RON 1,921

-48.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$5,842 RON 27.8K

-32.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$75.8 RON 361

-42.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$41.78 RON 199

-0.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$90.2 RON 430

-17.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$95.1 RON 453

-6.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$237 RON 1,131

312.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$181 RON 860

110.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$349 RON 1,662

389.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$293 RON 1,394

267.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$1,825 RON 8,695

116.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,347 RON 6,419

357.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$707 RON 3,370

3.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.02

63.11%

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 Campina: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Campina

$181 19.6% 52.6% $200

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Campina

$200 21.6% 21.7% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Campina

$176 19.1% 13.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Campina

$134 14.5% 2.3% $3.2

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Campina

$136 14.8% 22% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Campina

$67 7.2% 0.8% $0.6

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Campina

$30 3.2% 40.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $237 in Campina. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 4% 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 $42 in Campina for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $200 per month, with Campina cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Campina

🕒 Local time

12:34 12:34 PM

19:34 7:34 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

41,554

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.188 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Campina 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Campina

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 Campina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Campina wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Campina the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 4% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $237 in Campina. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $403 in Campina. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Campina runs roughly 17% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Campina is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 – Campina 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.