Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,735 in Costa Rica, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 15.2% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 30% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 20.6% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 16.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$11.78 ₡5,312

-6.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$55.5 ₡25.0K

-19.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$10.72 ₡4,831

11.19%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$4.49 ₡2,023

-15.37%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$2.33 ₡1,051

-43.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$1.81 ₡815

-52.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$3.23 ₡1,455

-0.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$4.42 ₡1,992

13.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$2.30 ₡1,037

-36.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$3.55 ₡1,600

-34.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$2.71 ₡1,221

-46.86%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$4.05 ₡1,825

-39.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$9.92 ₡4,473

-22.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$10.49 ₡4,729

-24.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$13.56 ₡6,111

-5.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$5.13 ₡2,312

-43.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$1.68 ₡758

-15.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$3.63 ₡1,639

-29.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$3.24 ₡1,463

-33.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$3.40 ₡1,534

-42.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$3.09 ₡1,394

-37.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.11 ₡501

3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$2.64 ₡1,192

-53.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$5.43 ₡2,446

-19.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$15.63 ₡7,048

-36.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$2.75 ₡1,238

-44.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$3.27 ₡1,472

-16.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$1.07 ₡480

-51.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$65.3 ₡29.4K

-58.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$2.18 ₡981

125.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$2.03 ₡916

73.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$8.82 ₡3,977

-35.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.53 ₡688

0.65%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$32.8K ₡14.8M

-35.20%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$36.0K ₡16.2M

-31.93%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$93.4 ₡42.1K

-10.48%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$30.19 ₡13.6K

-20.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$57.1 ₡25.7K

-48.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$65.1 ₡29.3K

-0.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$22.13 ₡9,976

33.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$8.09 ₡3,645

-37.08%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$740 ₡333.8K

-71.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$12.6K ₡5.7M

-67.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$75.5 ₡34.0K

-40.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-22.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$127 ₡57.4K

-40.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$107 ₡48.3K

-14.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$833 ₡375.3K

18.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$641 ₡289.1K

-39.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$1,776 ₡800.8K

-3.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$1,191 ₡536.9K

-6.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$2,437 ₡1.1M

64.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$1,631 ₡735.2K

283.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$1,033 ₡465.8K

-26.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.56

19.77%

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 Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Costa Rica

$641 36.7% 66.5% $256

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Costa Rica

$379 21.7% 45.6% $119

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Costa Rica

$222 12.7% 8.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Costa Rica

$181 10.3% 31.9% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Costa Rica

$164 9.4% 43.8% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Costa Rica

$81 4.6% 8.3% $6.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Costa Rica

$82 4.7% 57.4% $30

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🕒 Local time

01:52 1:52 AM

00:52 12:52 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,044,197

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Costa Rica 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Costa Rica

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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