Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Carthage

For one person, living is cheaper in Carthage: $693 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Carthage
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Carthage Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Carthage

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$693

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $693 in Carthage.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Carthage $693

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,103 in Carthage.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Carthage $1,103

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,513 in Carthage.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Carthage $1,513

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 74% more expensive than in Carthage, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Carthage 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.56 TND 13.69

139.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$22.10 TND 66.4

96.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.84 TND 17.54

101.71%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.12 TND 3.36

240.18%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.74 TND 2.21

72.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.29 TND 0.88

168.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.71 TND 5.15

85.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.96 TND 5.88

151.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.48 TND 1.45

193.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.26 TND 0.78

753.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.71 TND 5.13

-16.96%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.73 TND 5.20

45.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$10.21 TND 30.66

-28.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$5.92 TND 17.79

30.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$14.61 TND 43.90

-13.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.36 TND 4.07

104.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$3.61 TND 10.84

-62.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.16 TND 3.48

119.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.77 TND 2.32

175.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.83 TND 2.50

133.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.69 TND 2.07

173.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.53 TND 1.58

116.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.31 TND 0.93

280.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.75 TND 11.28

14.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$6.67 TND 20.04

49.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.22 TND 3.68

29.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.30 TND 3.90

105.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.41 TND 1.22

34.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$13.59 TND 40.83

95.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.33 TND 0.99

1406.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.35 TND 1.06

851.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.79 TND 5.37

199.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.84 TND 2.52

71.43%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$39.0K TND 117.3K

-47.08%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$35.8K TND 107.5K

-34.41%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$45.26 TND 136

87.34%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$8.90 TND 26.74

163.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$20.82 TND 62.6

37.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$31.89 TND 95.8

78.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$13.15 TND 39.51

119.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$4.95 TND 14.87

3.84%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$107 TND 321

93.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$3,149 TND 9,462

24.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$43.81 TND 132

-1.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$60.7 TND 182

-31.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$113 TND 338

-34.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$67.8 TND 204

31.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$204 TND 613

379.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$153 TND 460

148.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$206 TND 620

727.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$276 TND 830

288.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$972 TND 2,922

305.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$616 TND 1,851

899.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$264 TND 793

178.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.65

7.51%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Carthage: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Carthage

$153 22.1% 59.8% $228

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Carthage

$194 28% 23.9% $61

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Carthage

$84 12.1% 58.5% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Carthage

$75 10.8% 45.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Carthage

$128 18.5% 14.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Carthage

$42 6% 37.9% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Carthage

$17 2.5% 65.7% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $204 in Carthage. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $22 in Carthage for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $194 per month, with Carthage cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇳 Carthage

🕒 Local time

00:43 12:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

21,276

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 TND = 0.333 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3 TND (1 TND = 0.333 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Carthage 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Carthage

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 Carthage: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $693 in Carthage, so Carthage is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $204 in Carthage. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Carthage – a meal for two runs $22 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $693 in Carthage versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Carthage but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Carthage the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Carthage gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.