Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chittagong

For one person, living is cheaper in Chittagong: $375 a month against $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
Chittagong
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
$375
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $375 in Chittagong, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,215
  • Chittagong $375

A couple spends around $2,144 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $624 in Chittagong, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,144
  • Chittagong $624

A family of three spends $3,072 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $874 in Chittagong, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $3,072
  • Chittagong $874

Playa del Carmen costs about 224% more than Chittagong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Chittagong are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 9% lower, Chittagong 72% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.97 MX$201
$2.06 ৳254
432.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.85 MX$823
$12.14 ৳1,492
269.44%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.92 MX$219
$5.32 ৳653
124.06%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$2.71 ৳333
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.96 ৳486
-
Cappuccino
$3.80 MX$69.9
$1.91 ৳235
98.95%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 MX$24.08
$0.37 ৳45.16
254.05%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.86 MX$15.72
$0.13 ৳15.64
561.54%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.21 MX$59.0
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.01 MX$92.0
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 MX$26.77
$0.81 ৳99.2
80.25%
White Bread (500g)
$2.33 MX$42.72
$0.56 ৳68.8
316.07%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.48
$0.66 ৳80.6
118.18%
Eggs
$2.46 MX$45.20
$1.13 ৳139
117.70%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.70 MX$141
$7.33 ৳900
5.05%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.89 MX$145
$2.14 ৳262
268.69%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.80 MX$235
$7.33 ৳901
74.62%
Apples (1kg)
$2.92 MX$53.6
$2.28 ৳280
28.07%
Banana (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.11
$0.91 ৳112
56.04%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.57 MX$47.10
$2.07 ৳255
24.15%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.24
$0.85 ৳105
151.76%
Potato (1kg)
$1.95 MX$35.75
$0.44 ৳53.5
343.18%
Onion (1kg)
$1.94 MX$35.55
$0.77 ৳94.8
151.95%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.13
$0.46 ৳56.4
150.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 MX$22.42
$0.32 ৳39.34
281.25%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$4.22 ৳519
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$0.79 ৳97.4
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$1.43 ৳175
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.38 MX$80.3
$3.03 ৳372
44.55%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.85 MX$181
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 MX$28.23
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 MX$49.86
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.64
$0.23 ৳28.34
126.09%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.42 MX$503
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.91 MX$90.2
$0.80 ৳98.0
513.75%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.52 MX$64.7
$0.55 ৳67.8
540.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.69 MX$104
$3.99 ৳490
42.61%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 MX$28.27
$1.15 ৳141
33.91%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$389.9K
$31.9K ৳3.9M
-33.42%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K MX$449.6K
$44.5K ৳5.5M
-44.98%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.6 MX$1,535
$29.48 ৳3,622
183.62%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$24.03 MX$441
$5.58 ৳685
330.65%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.33 MX$539
$12.14 ৳1,492
141.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$64.9 MX$1,191
$19.55 ৳2,401
231.82%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.46 MX$541
$14.27 ৳1,753
106.45%
Cinema Ticket
$5.09 MX$93.4
$3.72 ৳457
36.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$208 MX$3,813
$35.12 ৳4,314
491.32%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,045 MX$74.3K
$1,439 ৳176.8K
181.05%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.55 MX$818
$23.03 ৳2,828
93.44%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.06 MX$772
$19.37 ৳2,379
117.14%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.5 MX$1,387
$56.4 ৳6,925
33.97%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$91.4 MX$1,678
$35.48 ৳4,358
157.53%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$986 MX$18.1K
$126 ৳15.4K
684.39%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$385 MX$7,072
$61.3 ৳7,524
528.87%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,713 MX$31.5K
$272 ৳33.4K
529.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,108 MX$20.4K
$168 ৳20.6K
559.72%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,016 MX$73.7K
$800 ৳98.3K
401.86%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,247 MX$114.7K
$476 ৳58.5K
1211.13%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Chittagong
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$758 MX$13.9K
$284 ৳34.9K
166.86%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
11.5
-0.43%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Chittagong: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$385
Chittagong
$61 84.1% $324
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$260
Chittagong
$113 56.4% $147
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$204
Chittagong
$57 71.9% $147
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Chittagong
$47 65.5% $90
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$114
Chittagong
$60 47% $54
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$75
Chittagong
$27 64% $48
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$52
Chittagong
$4.5 * 91.4% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $126 in Chittagong. 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 167% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $12.00 in Chittagong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $113 – making Chittagong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇧🇩 Chittagong
🕒 Local time
09:27 9:27 AM
20:27 8:27 PM
11 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
2,592,439
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.27 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Chittagong 15,240 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Chittagong

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 Chittagong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in Playa del Carmen and in Chittagong compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, $375 in Chittagong – roughly 224% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.
What salary covers living expenses in Playa del Carmen compared to Chittagong?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,823 per month in Playa del Carmen and $562 in Chittagong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between Playa del Carmen and Chittagong?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Chittagong, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen and $12.00 in Chittagong. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Groceries cost about 129% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Chittagong, where all-in costs run around $375, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,215. In Chittagong it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between Playa del Carmen and Chittagong?
It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $375 in Chittagong to $1,215 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
How do I decide between Playa del Carmen and Chittagong?
If budget matters most, go with Chittagong. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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