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 6.2% more expensive than Cartagena without rent, and 11.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 0.9% cheaper than Cartagena without rent, and 18.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$205

$13.72 €11.71

-13.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$730

$58.2 €49.67

-27.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$186

$8.04 €6.86

33.71%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$60.2

$2.66 €2.27

30.45%

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

$1.45 MX$25.17

$2.42 €2.07

-40.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.64

$2.04 €1.74

-55.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$52.9

$3.42 €2.92

-10.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$76.5

$3.39 €2.90

30.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$23.72

$1.14 €0.98

20.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$32.43

$1.01 €0.86

85.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$26.74

$1.67 €1.42

-7.78%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$43.36

$2.82 €2.41

-11.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$149

$11.51 €9.83

-25.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$150

$8.41 €7.18

2.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$191

$13.86 €11.83

-20.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$47.62

$2.26 €1.93

21.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$24.73

$1.78 €1.52

-19.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$32.44

$1.40 €1.20

33.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$37.54

$1.76 €1.50

23.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$32.61

$1.26 €1.08

49.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$38.91

$1.10 €0.94

104.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.49

$1.09 €0.93

-1.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$18.59

$0.52 €0.44

105.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$72.0

$5.93 €5.07

-30.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$179

$5.66 €4.83

82.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$29.08

$1.14 €0.98

47.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$43.02

$1.30 €1.11

90.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.61

$1.35 €1.15

-59.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$459

$11.61 €9.91

128.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$55.7

$3.55 €3.03

-9.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$42.98

$1.24 €1.06

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$53.9

$24.59 €21.00

-87.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$21.75

$1.82 €1.56

-30.77%

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

$30.7K MX$531.0K

$31.0K €26.5K

-1.22%

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

$24.0K MX$416.4K

$30.9K €26.4K

-22.29%

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

$82.5 MX$1,429

$142 €121

-41.97%

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

$22.29 MX$386

$13.35 €11.40

66.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$520

$30.45 €26.01

-1.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$891

$38.46 €32.85

33.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$317

$14.91 €12.73

22.67%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$86.3

$8.24 €7.03

-39.56%

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

$200 MX$3,464

$432 €369

-53.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$91.9K

$2,727 €2,329

94.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$618

$44.39 €37.91

-19.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$685

$31.73 €27.10

24.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,395

$44.91 €38.35

79.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,530

$76.3 €65.2

15.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$16.8K

$785 €670

23.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,352

$614 €524

-21.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$27.6K

$899 €767

77.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$20.5K

$778 €665

52.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$70.1K

$1,836 €1,568

120.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$113.0K

$1,477 €1,262

341.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.1K

$1,864 €1,592

-59.42%

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: March 3, 2026

Last update for Cartagena: March 2, 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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