Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chisinau Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chisinau

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 25.9% more expensive than Chisinau without rent, and 1.5% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 26.2% more expensive than Chisinau without rent, and 26.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.85 MX$210
$8.89 MDL 154
33.30%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.16 MX$746
$36.59 MDL 633
15.22%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.75 MX$190
$7.65 MDL 132
40.52%
Cappuccino
$3.47 MX$61.5
$1.82 MDL 31.50
90.66%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.45 MX$25.72
$0.93 MDL 16.11
55.91%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.90 MX$15.98
$0.69 MDL 12.00
30.43%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.05 MX$54.1
$1.79 MDL 30.90
70.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.42 MX$78.2
$2.41 MDL 41.58
83.40%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.37 MX$24.24
$1.28 MDL 22.11
7.03%
White Bread (500g)
$1.87 MX$33.14
$0.56 MDL 9.65
233.93%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.54 MX$27.32
$1.51 MDL 26.06
1.99%
Eggs
$2.50 MX$44.31
$2.49 MDL 42.97
0.40%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$152
$10.48 MDL 181
-17.84%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.63 MX$153
$5.62 MDL 97.2
53.56%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.02 MX$195
$9.01 MDL 156
22.31%
Apples (1kg)
$2.75 MX$48.67
$0.89 MDL 15.41
208.99%
Banana (1kg)
$1.43 MX$25.28
$1.77 MDL 30.58
-19.21%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.87 MX$33.15
$1.72 MDL 29.71
8.72%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.17 MX$38.37
$2.17 MDL 37.53
-
Potato (1kg)
$1.88 MX$33.33
$0.84 MDL 14.45
123.81%
Onion (1kg)
$2.25 MX$39.76
$0.58 MDL 10.06
287.93%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$18.90
$1.31 MDL 22.70
-18.32%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.07 MX$19.00
$0.82 MDL 14.15
30.49%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.15 MX$73.5
$3.30 MDL 57.0
25.76%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.34 MX$183
$5.18 MDL 89.5
99.61%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.68 MX$29.72
$1.23 MDL 21.26
36.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.48 MX$43.97
$1.97 MDL 34.02
25.89%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$9.82
$0.34 MDL 5.79
61.76%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.53 MX$470
$13.44 MDL 232
97.40%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.22 MX$56.9
$2.02 MDL 34.88
59.41%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.48 MX$43.93
$0.27 MDL 4.71
818.52%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$55.0
$5.28 MDL 91.3
-41.10%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.26 MX$22.22
$1.43 MDL 24.65
-11.89%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.7K MX$542.7K
$32.2K MDL 556.1K
-4.67%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.0K MX$425.5K
$30.7K MDL 531.4K
-21.79%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$82.5 MX$1,460
$170 MDL 2,942
-51.53%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.29 MX$394
$7.70 MDL 133
189.48%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.02 MX$531
$11.01 MDL 190
172.66%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.4 MX$911
$44.28 MDL 766
16.17%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.29 MX$324
$22.02 MDL 381
-16.94%
Cinema Ticket
$4.98 MX$88.2
$7.80 MDL 135
-36.15%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,540
$388 MDL 6,708
-48.44%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,304 MX$93.9K
$7,588 MDL 131.2K
-30.09%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.71 MX$632
$66.7 MDL 1,152
-46.42%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.56 MX$700
$53.0 MDL 916
-25.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$80.6 MX$1,426
$114 MDL 1,979
-29.63%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.3 MX$1,563
$124 MDL 2,139
-28.62%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$969 MX$17.2K
$654 MDL 11.3K
48.15%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$482 MX$8,535
$468 MDL 8,096
2.98%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,595 MX$28.2K
$1,249 MDL 21.6K
27.73%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,184 MX$21.0K
$822 MDL 14.2K
44.02%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,050 MX$71.7K
$2,665 MDL 46.1K
52.01%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,522 MX$115.4K
$1,860 MDL 32.2K
250.60%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Chisinau
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$756 MX$13.4K
$842 MDL 14.6K
-10.13%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
9.24
23.59%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

Last update for Chisinau: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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