Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chilanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $585 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $585 in Chilanga.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Chilanga $585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $928 in Chilanga.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Chilanga $928

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,271 in Chilanga.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Chilanga $1,271

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 106% more expensive than in Chilanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Chilanga 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$5.65 ZMW 112

92.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$29.59 ZMW 589

49.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.12 ZMW 102

129.69%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.76 ZMW 54.9

33.33%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.74 ZMW 14.64

81.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.48 ZMW 9.57

70.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.23 ZMW 24.49

148.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.31 ZMW 46.00

113.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.70 ZMW 33.83

-13.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.17 ZMW 23.22

89.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.10 ZMW 41.80

-29.52%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.92 ZMW 38.10

29.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.24 ZMW 204

-26.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$6.36 ZMW 126

25.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$6.65 ZMW 132

89.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.44 ZMW 68.5

-19.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.37 ZMW 47.19

-39.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$3.56 ZMW 70.8

-26.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.51 ZMW 29.94

41.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.49 ZMW 49.46

-18.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.79 ZMW 35.65

11.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.11 ZMW 21.99

2.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.79 ZMW 15.67

51.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.95 ZMW 58.7

44.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$9.91 ZMW 197

1.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.42 ZMW 28.20

8.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.33 ZMW 46.41

14.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.56 ZMW 50.9

91.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.47 ZMW 29.24

133.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$4.87 ZMW 96.9

10.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.48 ZMW 29.40

-2.03%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$7,420 ZMW 147.6K

185.15%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$27.4K ZMW 544.4K

-15.90%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$80.1 ZMW 1,592

6.63%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$10.46 ZMW 208

124.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$55.8 ZMW 1,110

-49.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.05 ZMW 120

-15.70%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$139 ZMW 2,768

44.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$16.6K ZMW 331.0K

-76.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$23.71 ZMW 472

87.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$15.19 ZMW 302

172.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$45.76 ZMW 910

58.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$71.2 ZMW 1,415

25.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-60.52%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Chilanga: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Chilanga

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Chilanga

$237 40.5% 8.3% $21

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Chilanga

$109 18.7% 45.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Chilanga

$146 25% 6.6% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Chilanga

$70 12% 37.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1% 83.3% $60

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Chilanga

$9.9 * 1.7% 80.8% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $30.00 in Chilanga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $237 per month, with Chilanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

13:40 1:40 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

107,051

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Chilanga 13,200 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chilanga

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 Chilanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Chilanga differ by about 106% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $585 including rent). Chilanga is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $877 in Chilanga to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $139 in Chilanga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chilanga – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $585 in Chilanga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chilanga but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Chilanga 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 Chilanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 106% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.