Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cartagena Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cartagena

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 25.6% more expensive than Cartagena without rent, and 16.5% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 0.3% cheaper than Cartagena without rent, and 41.7% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.99 MX$227
$5.96 COP 24.8K
101.17%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.47 MX$803
$46.85 COP 195.3K
-9.35%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.47 MX$198
$9.9 COP 41.3K
5.76%
Cappuccino
$3.6 MX$68.2
$1.65 COP 6,894
118.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.44 MX$27.16
$0.8 COP 3,333
80.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.89 MX$16.79
$0.71 COP 2,946
25.35%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 MX$58.5
$1.3 COP 5,428
137.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.58 MX$86.6
$2.88 COP 12K
59.03%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 MX$26.04
$1.2 COP 4,999
15.00%
White Bread (500g)
$1.85 MX$34.9
$1.83 COP 7,626
1.09%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 MX$29.68
$1.32 COP 5,518
18.94%
Eggs
$2.55 MX$48.3
$2.11 COP 8,808
20.85%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$163
$7.12 COP 29.7K
20.93%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$6.13 COP 25.6K
39.31%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.98 MX$208
$7.78 COP 32.4K
41.13%
Apples (1kg)
$2.72 MX$51.4
$3.26 COP 13.6K
-16.56%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.57
$1.93 COP 8,044
-21.76%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 MX$35.63
$1.47 COP 6,118
27.89%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.42
$1.59 COP 6,620
37.74%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 MX$35.3
$1.56 COP 6,485
19.87%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.37
$1.07 COP 4,470
104.67%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.23
$1.05 COP 4,389
1.90%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.64
$0.64 COP 2,665
70.31%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 MX$74.9
$2.27 COP 9,446
74.45%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.86 MX$167
$23.76 COP 99.1K
-62.71%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.72 MX$32.53
$0.97 COP 4,055
77.32%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 MX$49.37
$0.98 COP 4,090
166.33%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.74
$1.06 COP 4,412
-50.94%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.59 MX$503
$28.09 COP 117.1K
-5.34%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 MX$61.2
$2.49 COP 10.4K
30.12%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 MX$44.94
$2.44 COP 10.2K
-2.46%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$58.7
$4.97 COP 20.7K
-37.42%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 MX$24.85
$0.97 COP 4,064
35.05%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K MX$573K
$21.5K COP 89.7M
40.85%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24K MX$453.6K
$23.9K COP 99.6M
0.43%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$141 COP 586.1K
-40.08%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.14 MX$419
$10.92 COP 45.5K
102.75%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.14 MX$570
$24.73 COP 103.1K
21.88%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52 MX$983
$35.51 COP 148K
46.38%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.72 MX$354
$8.69 COP 36.2K
115.42%
Cinema Ticket
$5.07 MX$95.9
$2.94 COP 12.3K
72.45%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,787
$143 COP 594.7K
40.42%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,333 MX$100.8K
$5,872 COP 24.5M
-9.19%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.74 MX$676
$49.11 COP 204.8K
-27.22%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.8 MX$753
$39.16 COP 163.3K
1.63%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79 MX$1,493
$125 COP 521.4K
-36.85%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,671
$114 COP 474.6K
-22.37%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$965 MX$18.3K
$724 COP 3M
33.26%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$474 MX$8,968
$335 COP 1.4M
41.43%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,653 MX$31.2K
$1,312 COP 5.5M
25.93%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,202 MX$22.7K
$477 COP 2M
151.84%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,081 MX$58.3K
$2,840 COP 11.8M
8.49%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,529 MX$142.3K
$2,905 COP 12.1M
159.21%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Cartagena
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$792 MX$15K
$577 COP 2.4M
37.32%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
15
-23.87%

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 Cartagena: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.