Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cayo Coco

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Cayo Coco: $1,204 and $1,224 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Cayo Coco
Learn more

Cayo Coco Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cayo Coco

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Cayo Coco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,224 in Cayo Coco.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cayo Coco $1,224

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,689 in Cayo Coco.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cayo Coco $1,689

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,155 in Cayo Coco.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cayo Coco $2,155

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Cayo Coco; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Cayo Coco 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.11 CUP 123

113.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$14.92 CUP 358

190.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.90 CUP 166

70.72%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$0.97 CUP 23.34

292.78%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.05 CUP 49.24

-37.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.98 CUP 23.61

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.94 CUP 46.63

63.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.08 CUP 74.0

60.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$3.04 CUP 72.9

-53.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.99 CUP 23.72

124.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.97 CUP 47.29

-27.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.69 CUP 88.6

-31.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$5.86 CUP 141

23.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$5.06 CUP 121

52.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.80 CUP 235

29.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$5.07 CUP 122

-45.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.01 CUP 24.25

35.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.02 CUP 24.48

150.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.99 CUP 23.73

114.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.98 CUP 23.58

97.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$3.09 CUP 74.2

-38.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.01 CUP 24.30

13.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.99 CUP 23.64

19.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.95 CUP 70.8

45.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.02 CUP 241

-0.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.96 CUP 46.99

-19.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.96 CUP 47.01

36.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$20.39 CUP 489

30.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.97 CUP 23.33

412.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.02 CUP 24.48

226.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$20.19 CUP 485

-73.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.98 CUP 23.42

46.94%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$71.3K CUP 1.7M

-71.03%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$80.8K CUP 1.9M

-70.95%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$39.92 CUP 958

112.40%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$40.23 CUP 966

-41.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$221 CUP 5,307

-87.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$40.44 CUP 971

41.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$10.03 CUP 241

188.24%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$0.99 CUP 23.71

419.19%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$89.0 CUP 2,136

132.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$15.1K CUP 362.8K

-74.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$40.38 CUP 969

7.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$29.55 CUP 709

40.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$73.9 CUP 1,773

0.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$81.3 CUP 1,950

9.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$404 CUP 9,699

142.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$417 CUP 10.0K

-8.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,031 CUP 24.7K

65.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$623 CUP 14.9K

72.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$300 CUP 7,202

1213.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$354 CUP 8,487

1641.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$19.60 CUP 471

3647.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.50%

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 Cayo Coco: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cayo Coco

$417 34.1% 9.5% $36

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cayo Coco

$234 19.2% 8% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cayo Coco

$101 8.3% 49.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cayo Coco

$301 24.6% 120% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cayo Coco

$101 8.3% 9.3% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cayo Coco

$42 3.5% 37% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cayo Coco

$26 * 2.2% 47.6% $24

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $404 in Cayo Coco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 37 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $15 in Cayo Coco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $234 per month, with Cayo Coco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇺 Cayo Coco

🕒 Local time

00:23 12:23 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, 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).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.8 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cayo Coco 920 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cayo Coco

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 Cayo Coco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 37 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 $404 in Cayo Coco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cayo Coco runs roughly 23% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Shoppers in Cayo Coco pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.