Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cesis

For one person, living is cheaper in Cesis: $1,112 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Cesis
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Cesis Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cesis

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,112 in Cesis.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cesis $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,837 in Cesis.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cesis $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,562 in Cesis.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cesis $2,562

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 8% more expensive than in Cesis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Cesis 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$16.57 €14.78

-34.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$67.1 €59.9

-35.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.43 €8.42

24.92%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.80 €3.39

0.26%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.64 €1.46

-21.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$1.20 €1.07

-35.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$5.47 €4.88

-42.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$5.05 €4.50

-2.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.20 €1.07

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.47 €1.31

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$2.46 €2.19

-42.28%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$2.65 €2.36

-4.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.59 €9.45

-31.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$8.50 €7.59

-9.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$13.58 €12.12

-6.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$2.06 €1.84

34.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.82 €1.62

-24.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$2.45 €2.19

4.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$2.92 €2.61

-27.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.88 €0.79

120.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.87 €0.78

117.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.66 €1.48

-30.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.93 €0.83

26.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$6.78 €6.05

-36.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$7.64 €6.82

30.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.71 €1.52

-7.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.08 €1.85

28.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.43 €3.06

44.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.03 €0.92

223.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$17.42 €15.54

-69.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$2.11 €1.89

-31.75%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$26.9K €24.0K

-23.09%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$30.1K €26.9K

-22.15%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$376 €335

-77.44%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$19.15 €17.09

22.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$20.14 €17.97

42.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$10.91 €9.73

-52.89%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$711 €634

-70.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$17.8K €15.8K

-77.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$69.5 €62.0

-37.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$49.82 €44.45

-16.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$85.0 €75.8

-12.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$136 €121

-34.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$277 €247

288.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,106 €987

-33.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.77

140.04%

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 Cesis: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cesis

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cesis

$258 23.2% 1.3% $3.2

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cesis

$255 23% 26.1% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cesis

$415 37.3% 203% $278

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cesis

$153 13.8% 36.9% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cesis

$22 * 2% 67.6% $45

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cesis

$8.6 * 0.8% 83% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

Cesis pays 51% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $67 in Cesis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇻 Cesis

🕒 Local time

07:56 7:56 AM

14:56 2:56 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

17,673

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cesis 9,340 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cesis

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 Cesis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cesis is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $67 in Cesis. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $711 in Cesis. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Cesis 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.