Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ciudad Guayana

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Guayana: $692 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ciudad Guayana

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ciudad Guayana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $692 in Ciudad Guayana.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ciudad Guayana $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,173 in Ciudad Guayana.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ciudad Guayana $1,173

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,655 in Ciudad Guayana.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ciudad Guayana $1,655

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 74% more expensive than in Ciudad Guayana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Ciudad Guayana 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$9.53 VES 8,439

14.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$40.52 VES 35.9K

7.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$14.60 VES 12.9K

-19.32%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.45 VES 3,052

10.43%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.46 VES 1,295

-12.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.02 VES 905

-23.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.03 VES 911

207.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.03 VES 1,800

142.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.86 VES 1,649

-24.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.01 VES 896

35.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.02 VES 904

150.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$3.05 VES 2,703

-30.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$3.06 VES 2,712

-38.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.96 VES 1,738

-41.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.51 VES 1,342

-21.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.88 VES 3,437

10.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.89 VES 787

77.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.96 VES 1,739

36.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.60 VES 532

-8.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$29.75 VES 26.4K

-10.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.38 VES 3,882

13.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.98 VES 3,528

-16.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.51 VES 453

182.35%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$40.6K VES 35.9M

-49.07%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$69.8K VES 61.8M

-66.38%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$40.74 VES 36.1K

108.12%

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

$23.41 MX$436

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$15.10 VES 13.4K

89.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$42.88 VES 38.0K

33.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$17.37 VES 15.4K

66.44%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$7.86 VES 6,966

-34.61%

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

$207 MX$3,851

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$29.95 VES 26.5K

44.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$34.55 VES 30.6K

19.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$180 VES 159.9K

-58.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$98.6 VES 87.4K

-9.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$150 VES 133.2K

551.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$101 VES 89.6K

276.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$396 VES 350.9K

331.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$254 VES 225.4K

322.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$258 VES 228.1K

1431.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$131 VES 116.2K

4594.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$112 VES 99.1K

556.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-54.20%

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 Ciudad Guayana: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $150 in Ciudad Guayana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 6.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $41 in Ciudad Guayana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $85 per month, with Ciudad Guayana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇪 Ciudad Guayana

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

12:59 12:59 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

820,780

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 886 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 986 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Ciudad Guayana 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
Ciudad Guayana

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 Ciudad Guayana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Ciudad Guayana differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $692 including rent). Ciudad Guayana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 6.6 times higher, 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 $150 in Ciudad Guayana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ciudad Guayana – a meal for two runs $41 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 11% less than in Ciudad Guayana. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $692 in Ciudad Guayana versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ciudad Guayana but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad Guayana 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ciudad Guayana wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.