Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Charleroi

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,019 in Charleroi, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
98

Cost of Living Index in Charleroi
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Charleroi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Charleroi

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,019

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,019 in Charleroi.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Charleroi $2,019

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,917 in Charleroi.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Charleroi $2,917

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,815 in Charleroi.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Charleroi $3,815

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 40% less than in Charleroi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Charleroi is 50% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$198

$22.39 €19.99

-51.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$791

$82.0 €73.2

-47.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$217

$13.52 €12.07

-12.80%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.0

$3.03 €2.71

27.72%

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

$1.37 MX$25.14

$2.14 €1.91

-35.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.36

$2.18 €1.94

-61.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.0

$3.23 €2.88

-4.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.1

$3.91 €3.49

29.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.39

$1.14 €1.01

26.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$40.99

$2.53 €2.26

-11.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.01

$2.15 €1.91

-31.63%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.44

$3.59 €3.20

-29.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$134

$17.52 €15.63

-58.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$144

$12.09 €10.79

-34.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$235

$21.70 €19.37

-41.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.3

$2.61 €2.33

11.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.38

$2.31 €2.06

-37.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$46.80

$2.65 €2.36

-3.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.81

$3.39 €3.03

-39.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.76

$2.14 €1.91

-6.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$36.85

$1.10 €0.98

82.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$21.89

$1.31 €1.17

-9.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.09

$0.72 €0.64

75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$80.9

$12.67 €11.31

-65.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$176

$8.81 €7.86

8.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.24

$1.66 €1.48

-4.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.6

$1.97 €1.75

42.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.41

$2.85 €2.54

-80.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$511

$40.92 €36.52

-32.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$91.6

$5.66 €5.05

-12.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.3

$2.76 €2.46

26.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.2

$43.80 €39.09

-87.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$26.92

$1.84 €1.64

-20.11%

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

$21.0K MX$385.6K

$29.7K €26.5K

-29.36%

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

$23.9K MX$439.2K

$32.8K €29.3K

-27.07%

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

$84.2 MX$1,547

$208 €185

-59.44%

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

$23.99 MX$441

$21.74 €19.40

10.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$533

$47.26 €42.18

-38.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,157

$32.19 €28.73

95.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$535

$28.18 €25.15

3.41%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$90.8

$15.02 €13.40

-67.11%

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

$204 MX$3,741

$1,628 €1,453

-87.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.4K

$16.5K €14.7K

-76.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$801

$109 €97.0

-59.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$792

$52.3 €46.64

-17.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,392

$88.1 €78.6

-14.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,628

$88.4 €78.9

0.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.5K

$798 €712

26.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,872

$815 €727

-54.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.4K

$1,031 €920

65.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.3K

$1,043 €931

6.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.5K

$2,863 €2,555

37.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$113.3K

$2,916 €2,603

111.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$2,306 €2,058

-67.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.46

230.92%

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 Charleroi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Charleroi

$815 40.4% 118% $441

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Charleroi

$344 17.1% 33.3% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Charleroi

$297 14.7% 47% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Charleroi

$277 13.7% 102% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Charleroi

$152 7.5% 34.4% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Charleroi

$62 3.1% 14.6% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Charleroi

$72 3.6% 36.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $798 in Charleroi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Charleroi pays 206% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $82.0 in Charleroi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $344 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇪 Charleroi

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

08:50 8:50 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

202,730

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 18.37 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.56 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 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 Charleroi 8,360 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Charleroi

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 Charleroi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Charleroi differ by about 67% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $2,019 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 206% lower in Charleroi. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $798 in Charleroi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 47% less than in Charleroi. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,628 in Charleroi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,019 in Charleroi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Charleroi. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Charleroi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.