Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cox's Bazar

For one person, living is cheaper in Cox’s Bazar: $348 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
17

Cost of Living Index in Cox's Bazar
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Cox's Bazar Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cox's Bazar

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$348

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Cox's Bazar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $348 in Cox’s Bazar.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cox's Bazar $348

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $558 in Cox’s Bazar.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cox's Bazar $558

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $769 in Cox’s Bazar.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cox's Bazar $769

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 247% more expensive than in Cox’s Bazar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Cox’s Bazar 74% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$1.56 ৳194

600.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$12.21 ৳1,513

255.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$2.95 ৳366

299.32%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ৳320

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 ৳308

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.92 ৳238

98.44%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.36 ৳44.57

255.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.10 ৳12.90

680.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.80 ৳99.2

76.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.50 ৳62.2

344.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.66 ৳81.9

115.15%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.04 ৳129

142.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.20 ৳892

0.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.07 ৳256

271.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$7.29 ৳904

74.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.35 ৳291

18.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$0.88 ৳109

55.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.60 ৳199

59.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.52 ৳64.1

307.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.46 ৳57.2

321.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.58 ৳71.3

225.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.47 ৳58.5

144.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.30 ৳36.72

293.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.68 ৳952

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ৳316

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ৳565

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$1.91 ৳236

125.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.29 ৳36.32

1613.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.35 ৳43.20

851.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$4.16 ৳516

28.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.14 ৳142

26.32%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$31.7K ৳3.9M

-34.73%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$34.0K ৳4.2M

-30.92%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$12.20 ৳1,512

595.00%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$2.63 ৳326

790.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$11.12 ৳1,377

157.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$16.05 ৳1,989

255.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$4.07 ৳504

610.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$2.36 ৳292

117.80%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$24.65 ৳3,055

737.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$1,454 ৳180.1K

170.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$22.55 ৳2,795

92.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$18.21 ৳2,256

127.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$32.91 ৳4,078

125.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$34.87 ৳4,321

155.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$164 ৳20.4K

495.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$96.1 ৳11.9K

296.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$300 ৳37.1K

469.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$164 ৳20.3K

555.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$348 ৳43.1K

1034.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$261 ৳32.4K

2256.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$286 ৳35.4K

157.09%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Cox's Bazar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cox's Bazar

$96 27.6% 74.8% $285

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cox's Bazar

$108 31% 57.8% $147

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cox's Bazar

$46 13.3% 77.1% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cox's Bazar

$26 7.5% 81% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cox's Bazar

$49 14.1% 56.3% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cox's Bazar

$21 6% 69.1% $47

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cox's Bazar

$2 * 0.6% 96% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $164 in Cox’s Bazar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.6 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $12 in Cox’s Bazar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $108 per month, with Cox’s Bazar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇩 Cox's Bazar

🕒 Local time

04:23 4:23 AM

15:23 3:23 PM

11 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

223,522

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.23 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.23 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cox's Bazar 15,340 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cox's Bazar

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 Cox's Bazar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $348 in Cox’s Bazar, so Cox’s Bazar is about 71% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.6 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 $164 in Cox’s Bazar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 137% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $348 in Cox’s Bazar – Cox’s Bazar is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $348 in Cox’s Bazar versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Cox’s Bazar but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Cox’s Bazar 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 – Cox’s Bazar 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.