Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cranbrook

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,231 in Cranbrook, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Cranbrook
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Cranbrook Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cranbrook

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,231

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,231 in Cranbrook.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cranbrook $2,231

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,017 in Cranbrook.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cranbrook $3,017

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,804 in Cranbrook.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cranbrook $3,804

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 46% less than in Cranbrook, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Cranbrook is 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$14.16 CA$19.78

-22.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$67.2 CA$93.8

-35.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$10.12 CA$14.14

16.40%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.99 CA$5.57

-4.51%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.83 CA$2.56

-30.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.77 CA$2.47

-55.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$5.12 CA$7.16

-38.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$5.67 CA$7.92

-13.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.84 CA$2.57

-23.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.43 CA$3.39

-8.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$4.47 CA$6.24

-68.23%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.54 CA$4.94

-28.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$10.04 CA$14.03

-27.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$12.51 CA$17.48

-38.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$13.03 CA$18.21

-2.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.44 CA$4.81

-19.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.29 CA$1.80

6.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.78 CA$3.88

-8.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$4.56 CA$6.38

-53.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.67 CA$5.13

-47.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$3.13 CA$4.38

-39.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$3.18 CA$4.44

-63.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.77 CA$2.47

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$11.89 CA$16.62

-63.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$14.25 CA$19.91

-30.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$3.14 CA$4.39

-49.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.82 CA$5.34

-30.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.41 CA$1.97

-60.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.55 CA$4.96

40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.88 CA$4.03

15.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$42.89 CA$59.9

-87.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.12 CA$1.57

28.57%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$25.0K CA$34.9K

-17.31%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$21.0K CA$29.4K

11.50%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$176 CA$246

-51.92%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$18.11 CA$25.30

29.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$60.3 CA$84.3

-52.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$28.38 CA$39.65

101.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$14.24 CA$19.89

-63.90%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$863 CA$1,205

-76.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$3,601 CA$5,031

9.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$43.66 CA$61.0

-0.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$50.8 CA$71.0

-18.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$77.2 CA$108

-3.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$120 CA$168

-25.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,063 CA$1,485

-7.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$1,153 CA$1,611

-66.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,679 CA$2,346

1.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,422 CA$1,987

-24.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,933 CA$4,098

-74.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.85

136.08%

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 Cranbrook: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cranbrook

$1.2K 51.7% 203% $772

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cranbrook

$368 16.5% 44.6% $114

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cranbrook

$243 10.9% 20% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cranbrook

$255 11.4% 86.2% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cranbrook

$131 5.9% 17.5% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cranbrook

$57 2.6% 15.6% $10

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cranbrook

$24 * 1.1% 53.2% $27

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 $1,063 in Cranbrook. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cranbrook pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $67 in Cranbrook for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $368 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Cranbrook

🕒 Local time

19:57 7:57 PM

18:57 6:57 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

20,047

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, 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 = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cranbrook 4,090 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cranbrook

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 Cranbrook: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 46% lower than in Cranbrook. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,063 in Cranbrook. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $863 in Cranbrook. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $67 in Cranbrook. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,231 in Cranbrook, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Cranbrook. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Cranbrook on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.