Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cape Town

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 26% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 1.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 2.9% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 11% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.99 MX$227

$11.02 R 196

8.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.47 MX$803

$44.54 R 792

-4.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 MX$198

$4.96 R 88.2

111.09%

Cappuccino

$3.6 MX$68.2

$1.98 R 35.25

81.82%

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

$1.44 MX$27.16

$1.16 R 20.6

24.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 MX$16.79

$0.87 R 15.46

2.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 MX$58.5

$2.82 R 50.1

9.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 MX$86.6

$2.47 R 43.97

85.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$26.04

$1.16 R 20.62

18.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$34.9

$1.1 R 19.49

68.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.68

$1.83 R 32.49

-14.21%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$48.3

$2.39 R 42.45

6.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$163

$8.28 R 147

3.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.54 MX$161

$5.22 R 92.8

63.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.98 MX$208

$7.46 R 133

47.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.4

$1.55 R 27.64

75.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$28.57

$1.41 R 25.08

7.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.63

$1.45 R 25.83

29.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.42

$1.52 R 26.99

44.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 MX$35.3

$1.08 R 19.21

73.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.37

$1.24 R 22.05

76.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$20.23

$1.09 R 19.32

-1.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.64

$0.98 R 17.46

11.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 MX$74.9

$3.04 R 54

30.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.86 MX$167

$5.68 R 101

55.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 MX$32.53

$1.42 R 25.18

21.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 MX$49.37

$1.68 R 29.94

55.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.74

$0.91 R 16.22

-42.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.59 MX$503

$47.53 R 845

-44.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$61.2

$1.38 R 24.59

134.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 MX$44.94

$0.95 R 16.94

150.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$58.7

$4.54 R 80.8

-31.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.85

$1.23 R 21.88

6.50%

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

$30.3K MX$573K

$21K R 373K

44.52%

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

$24K MX$453.6K

$24.5K R 434.9K

-1.88%

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

$84.2 MX$1,592

$99.2 R 1,764

-15.08%

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

$22.14 MX$419

$33.54 R 597

-33.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.14 MX$570

$40.65 R 723

-25.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52 MX$983

$42.61 R 758

21.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.72 MX$354

$8.17 R 145

129.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 MX$95.9

$6.85 R 122

-25.99%

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

$200 MX$3,787

$209 R 3,720

-4.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,333 MX$100.8K

$5,202 R 92.5K

2.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.74 MX$676

$55.1 R 980

-35.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.8 MX$753

$33.11 R 589

20.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79 MX$1,493

$111 R 1,974

-28.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,671

$85.5 R 1,520

3.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$965 MX$18.3K

$766 R 13.6K

26.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 MX$8,968

$522 R 9,280

-9.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 MX$31.2K

$1,434 R 25.5K

15.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,202 MX$22.7K

$1,029 R 18.3K

16.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,081 MX$58.3K

$2,000 R 35.6K

54.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,529 MX$142.3K

$1,318 R 23.4K

471.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$792 MX$15K

$1,641 R 29.2K

-51.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

11.77

-2.97%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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