Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chiclayo

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiclayo: $998 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Chiclayo
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Chiclayo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Chiclayo

🇵🇪 Peru

$998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $998 in Chiclayo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Chiclayo $998

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,584 in Chiclayo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Chiclayo $1,584

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,170 in Chiclayo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Chiclayo $2,170

Playa del Carmen costs about 21% more than Chiclayo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Chiclayo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Chiclayo 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.15 PEN 17.82

112.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$34.69 PEN 120

25.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.75 PEN 30.29

34.63%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$4.23 PEN 14.65

-9.93%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.91 PEN 3.15

40.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.46 PEN 1.58

69.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$8.44 PEN 29.24

-62.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.25 PEN 7.77

-37.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.28 PEN 7.89

-2.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.19 PEN 7.58

-35.16%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.38 PEN 8.26

5.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.53 PEN 22.59

11.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.10 PEN 21.13

26.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.88 PEN 34.22

28.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.45 PEN 8.47

13.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.91 PEN 6.61

-28.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.47 PEN 8.54

3.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.80 PEN 6.23

17.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.17 PEN 4.03

65.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.23 PEN 7.73

-15.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.65 PEN 2.24

76.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.91 PEN 3.16

29.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$5.23 PEN 18.11

-17.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$12.15 PEN 42.05

-18.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.50 PEN 5.18

5.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.79 PEN 6.20

49.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.78 PEN 2.69

-29.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$29.38 PEN 102

-9.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.20 PEN 11.07

55.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.92 PEN 10.12

14.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$6.29 PEN 21.77

-14.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.31 PEN 4.54

9.92%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$24.3K PEN 84.2K

-15.00%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$24.5K PEN 84.9K

-4.29%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$48.50 PEN 168

74.82%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$26.67 PEN 92.4

-12.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$31.71 PEN 110

-9.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$61.5 PEN 213

-7.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$25.15 PEN 87.1

14.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$7.82 PEN 27.09

-34.27%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$248 PEN 857

-16.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$4,008 PEN 13.9K

-2.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$50.2 PEN 174

-13.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$59.7 PEN 207

-30.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$198 PEN 687

-62.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$147 PEN 509

-39.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$239 PEN 827

310.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$150 PEN 518

154.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$447 PEN 1,547

282.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$254 PEN 879

323.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,106 PEN 3,829

256.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,073 PEN 3,716

473.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$504 PEN 1,746

45.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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 Chiclayo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Chiclayo

$150 15% 60.7% $231

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Chiclayo

$243 24.3% 4.7% $12

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Chiclayo

$166 * 16.6% 18% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Chiclayo

$107 10.7% 21.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Chiclayo

$205 20.6% 83.5% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Chiclayo

$77 7.7% 14.6% $9.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Chiclayo

$50 5% 0.3% $0.2

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $239 in Chiclayo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 46% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $35 in Chiclayo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $243 – making Chiclayo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇪 Chiclayo

🕒 Local time

01:11 1:11 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

60,325

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 PEN = 0.289 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, 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).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.46 PEN (1 PEN = 0.289 USD). 1 EUR = 3.87 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Chiclayo 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chiclayo

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 Chiclayo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $998 in Chiclayo – Chiclayo comes out roughly 17% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,496 in Chiclayo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiclayo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $239 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $35 in Chiclayo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $998 in Chiclayo. That makes Chiclayo about 17% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Chiclayo, where all-in costs run around $998, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Chiclayo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $998 in Chiclayo to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Chiclayo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.