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 26% more expensive than Cartagena without rent, and 12.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 22.5% cheaper than Cartagena without rent, and 20.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

$13.75 €11.86

-13.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

$58.2 €50.2

-28.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

$8.21 €7.08

28.50%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

$2.57 €2.21

40.08%

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

$2.46 €2.12

-39.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

$2.05 €1.77

-55.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

$3.54 €3.05

-12.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

$3.39 €2.92

31.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$1.14 €0.98

21.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$1.03 €0.89

84.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$1.69 €1.46

-5.33%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$2.82 €2.43

-7.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$11.45 €9.87

-26.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$8.21 €7.08

5.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$14.13 €12.18

-22.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$2.27 €1.95

14.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$1.83 €1.58

-21.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$1.45 €1.25

35.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$1.72 €1.48

23.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$1.26 €1.08

47.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$1.05 €0.91

111.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$1.10 €0.94

-7.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$0.56 €0.48

85.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$5.65 €4.87

-28.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$6.00 €5.17

69.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$1.10 €0.95

53.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$1.26 €1.08

107.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

$1.37 €1.18

-62.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

$11.52 €9.93

130.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$3.43 €2.96

-8.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

$1.21 €1.04

103.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$24.52 €21.14

-86.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

$1.83 €1.58

-27.87%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

$30.5K €26.3K

-1.27%

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

$31.0K €26.7K

-23.42%

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$144 €124

-42.10%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$13.56 €11.69

68.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$30.05 €25.90

-0.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

$39.19 €33.78

32.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

$15.11 €13.02

21.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$8.04 €6.93

-36.32%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$423 €364

-52.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

$2,832 €2,441

87.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$44.81 €38.63

-20.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$31.44 €27.10

28.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$44.64 €38.48

77.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$77.0 €66.3

16.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

$777 €670

21.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

$617 €532

-21.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

$911 €785

75.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

$752 €648

61.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

$1,804 €1,555

121.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

$1,494 €1,288

328.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

$1,817 €1,566

-59.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

3.44

231.98%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 2026

Last update for Cartagena: January 11, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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