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

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 7.1% cheaper than Cartago without rent, and 17.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 20.7% cheaper than Cartago without rent, and 12.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.99 MX$227

$8 ₡4,006

49.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.47 MX$803

$31.92 ₡16K

33.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 MX$198

$9.07 ₡4,540

15.44%

Cappuccino

$3.6 MX$68.2

$3.85 ₡1,929

-6.49%

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

$1.44 MX$27.16

$2.04 ₡1,020

-29.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 MX$16.79

$1.22 ₡613

-27.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 MX$58.5

$2.04 ₡1,021

51.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 MX$86.6

$4.68 ₡2,345

-2.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$26.04

$1.98 ₡989

-30.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$34.9

$2.2 ₡1,103

-15.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.68

$2.2 ₡1,103

-28.64%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$48.3

$2.87 ₡1,439

-11.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$163

$8.06 ₡4,037

6.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.54 MX$161

$8.9 ₡4,456

-4.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.98 MX$208

$13.87 ₡6,946

-20.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.4

$4.4 ₡2,205

-38.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$28.57

$1.17 ₡585

29.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.63

$3.93 ₡1,970

-52.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.42

$2.7 ₡1,352

-18.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 MX$35.3

$1.98 ₡989

-5.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.37

$1.93 ₡968

13.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$20.23

$0.97 ₡486

10.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.64

$2.03 ₡1,017

-46.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 MX$74.9

$5.37 ₡2,688

-26.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.86 MX$167

$13.79 ₡6,901

-35.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 MX$32.53

$2.4 ₡1,203

-28.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 MX$49.37

$1.75 ₡878

49.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.74

$1.06 ₡531

-50.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.59 MX$503

$69 ₡34.5K

-61.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$61.2

$1.35 ₡677

140.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 MX$44.94

$1.77 ₡886

34.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$58.7

$7.7 ₡3,855

-59.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.85

$1.39 ₡695

-5.76%

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

$30.3K MX$573K

$37.2K ₡18.6M

-18.56%

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

$24K MX$453.6K

$33.1K ₡16.6M

-27.58%

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

$84.2 MX$1,592

$48.99 ₡24.5K

71.95%

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

$22.14 MX$419

$25.87 ₡12.9K

-14.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.14 MX$570

$56.3 ₡28.2K

-46.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52 MX$983

$57.7 ₡28.9K

-9.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.72 MX$354

$24.16 ₡12.1K

-22.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 MX$95.9

$6.38 ₡3,192

-20.53%

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

$200 MX$3,787

$490 ₡245.4K

-59.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,333 MX$100.8K

$7,079 ₡3.5M

-24.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.74 MX$676

$61.7 ₡30.9K

-42.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.8 MX$753

$52.2 ₡26.1K

-23.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79 MX$1,493

$108 ₡54K

-26.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,671

$79.5 ₡39.8K

11.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$965 MX$18.3K

$776 ₡388.3K

24.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 MX$8,968

$606 ₡303.4K

-21.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 MX$31.2K

$734 ₡367.6K

125.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,202 MX$22.7K

$753 ₡377.1K

59.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,081 MX$58.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,529 MX$142.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$792 MX$15K

$1,613 ₡807.4K

-50.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

14.20%

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 Cartago: October 27, 2025

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