Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chita

For one person, living is cheaper in Chita: $1,085 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses 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 Chita
Learn more

Chita Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Chita

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,085

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,085 in Chita.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Chita $1,085

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,719 in Chita.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Chita $1,719

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,354 in Chita.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Chita $2,354

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 11% more expensive than in Chita, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Chita 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$10.90 ₽881

0.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$38.76 ₽3,134

11.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.63 ₽455

109.24%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.59 ₽210

47.10%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.24 ₽99.9

3.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.60 ₽48.29

30.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$1.88 ₽152

68.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$3.27 ₽265

50.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.16 ₽93.9

21.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.79 ₽63.8

181.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.27 ₽103

11.81%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.62 ₽131

55.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$11.42 ₽923

-36.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.63 ₽455

36.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$11.55 ₽934

9.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.85 ₽149

50.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.88 ₽152

-27.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.62 ₽131

57.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$2.93 ₽237

-27.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.73 ₽58.9

165.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.66 ₽53.5

186.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.49 ₽120

-22.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.85 ₽68.3

38.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.14 ₽254

36.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$8.10 ₽655

22.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.26 ₽102

25.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.34 ₽189

14.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.50 ₽40.76

10.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$25.70 ₽2,078

3.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$2.21 ₽179

124.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.33 ₽26.94

909.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$5.79 ₽468

-7.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$0.93 ₽75.4

54.84%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$61.2K ₽5.0M

-66.25%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$39.8K ₽3.2M

-41.09%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$124 ₽10.1K

-31.86%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$6.48 ₽524

261.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$8.59 ₽695

233.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$32.00 ₽2,588

78.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$26.84 ₽2,170

7.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$7.05 ₽570

-27.09%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$326 ₽26.3K

-36.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$6,900 ₽557.9K

-43.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$80.5 ₽6,508

-46.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$61.7 ₽4,991

-32.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$129 ₽10.5K

-42.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$113 ₽9,159

-21.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$481 ₽38.9K

103.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$319 ₽25.8K

19.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$938 ₽75.8K

82.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$620 ₽50.2K

73.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$2,532 ₽204.7K

55.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,436 ₽116.1K

328.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$454 ₽36.7K

61.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

21.45

-46.62%

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 Chita: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Chita

$319 29.4% 16.2% $62

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Chita

$217 20% 15% $38

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Chita

$158 14.6% 21.7% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Chita

$140 12.9% 2% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Chita

$173 16% 55% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Chita

$46 4.3% 31.5% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Chita

$32 2.9% 37.4% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $481 in Chita. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 62% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $39 in Chita for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $217 per month, with Chita cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇺 Chita

🕒 Local time

15:16 3:16 PM

05:16 5:16 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

333,679

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 RUB = 1.24 USD

100 RUB = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR 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 = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 80.86 RUB (100 RUB = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.63 RUB (100 RUB = 1.1 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Chita 11,690 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chita

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 Chita: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,085 in Chita, so Chita is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 62% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $481 in Chita. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Chita – a meal for two runs $39 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Chita 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.

Expats usually find Chita gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.