Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cartago

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,281 in Cartago, rent and utilities included – about $850 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cartago outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Cartago

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,281

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,281 in Cartago, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Cartago $1,281

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,972 in Cartago, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Cartago $1,972

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,663 in Cartago, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Cartago $2,663

Playa del Carmen is about 5% cheaper than Cartago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Cartago are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Cartago 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$7.58 COP 24.0K

41.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$37.20 COP 118.0K

15.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$8.47 COP 26.8K

39.20%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.54 COP 4,868

151.30%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.28 COP 4,050

7.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.83 COP 2,626

1.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.10 COP 9,838

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.66 COP 11.6K

38.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.60 COP 5,072

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.88 COP 5,954

18.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.49 COP 4,737

-1.34%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.93 COP 9,305

-13.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$6.58 COP 20.9K

10.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.11 COP 22.5K

10.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.93 COP 31.5K

28.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.57 COP 11.3K

-18.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.32 COP 4,187

9.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.74 COP 5,513

46.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.63 COP 5,168

26.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.42 COP 4,508

40.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.50 COP 4,743

34.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.08 COP 3,432

10.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.03 COP 3,250

22.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.69 COP 11.7K

19.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$13.12 COP 41.6K

-26.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.50 COP 4,741

6.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.45 COP 7,770

14.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.02 COP 3,234

-44.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.79 COP 2,516

530.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.27 COP 7,207

54.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$8.40 COP 26.6K

-35.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.32 COP 4,198

11.36%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$28.0K COP 88.9M

-25.12%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$34.6K COP 109.9M

-31.00%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$110 COP 348.3K

-23.33%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$13.23 COP 42.0K

81.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$30.26 COP 95.9K

-4.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$42.32 COP 134.2K

48.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$8.24 COP 26.1K

-40.05%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$701 COP 2.2M

-70.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$6,430 COP 20.4M

-38.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$77.8 COP 246.6K

-43.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$55.1 COP 174.8K

-21.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$127 COP 401.8K

-40.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$111 COP 350.6K

-19.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$645 COP 2.0M

56.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$509 COP 1.6M

-26.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,041 COP 3.3M

64.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$970 COP 3.1M

14.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,999 COP 6.3M

97.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,803 COP 5.7M

242.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.58

-1.12%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Cartago

$509 39.7% 36.1% $135

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Cartago

$241 18.8% 6.8% $18

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Cartago

$136 10.6% 32.9% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Cartago

$153 12% 11.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Cartago

$167 13% 47.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Cartago

$59 4.6% 19.3% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Cartago

$16 * 1.3% 69.1% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $645 in Cartago. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $37.00 in Cartago. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $241 – making Cartago the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 Cartago

🕒 Local time

07:35 7:35 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

135,365

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cartago 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cartago

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 Cartago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cartago is pricier by about 6%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,921 in Cartago. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,281 in Cartago. That's a gap of about 6%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $701 in Cartago. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Cartago at $1,281. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cartago it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cartago makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.