Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Crema

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,567 in Crema, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Crema outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Crema
Learn more

Crema Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Crema

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,567 in Crema, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Crema $1,567

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,100 in Crema, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Crema $2,100

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,633 in Crema, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Crema $2,633

Playa del Carmen is about 23% cheaper than Crema, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Crema is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$17.06 €15.32

-35.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$56.6 €50.8

-23.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.18 €9.14

15.72%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.67 €1.50

128.14%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$3.68 €3.31

-65.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.53 €1.38

-49.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$5.71 €5.13

-44.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$5.65 €5.07

-12.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.13 €1.01

24.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.69 €1.52

31.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.78 €2.50

-48.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.40 €3.06

-25.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$12.51 €11.24

-41.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$8.86 €7.96

-13.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$15.62 €14.03

-18.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.29 €2.06

21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.36 €1.22

0.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.41 €1.26

80.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.33 €2.09

-9.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.36 €1.23

42.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.52 €1.37

24.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.30 €1.17

-11.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.40 €0.36

195.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$7.01 €6.30

-38.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.67 €5.10

75.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.36 €1.22

16.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.02 €0.92

161.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.52 €4.06

9.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.20 €1.08

177.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$34.31 €30.82

-84.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.95 €1.76

-26.15%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$36.7K €33.0K

-43.71%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$35.2K €31.6K

-33.28%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$271 €243

-68.69%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$10.17 €9.14

130.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$28.16 €25.29

1.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$27.81 €24.98

3.96%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$12.96 €11.64

-60.34%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$556 €499

-62.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.2K €9,173

-61.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$54.6 €49.06

-20.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$44.35 €39.84

-6.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$89.2 €80.2

-16.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$90.4 €81.2

-1.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$734 €659

33.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$592 €532

-35.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,241 €1,114

37.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$548 €492

96.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,315 €2,080

-68.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.62

216.30%

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 Crema: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Crema

$592 37.8% 55.6% $212

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Crema

$256 16.3% 0.4% $1

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Crema

$248 15.8% 22.4% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Crema

$309 19.7% 126% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Crema

$125 8% 12.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Crema

$26 * 1.7% 61.5% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Crema

$11 * 0.7% 79.1% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $734 in Crema. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Crema are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $57 in Crema. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $256 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇹 Crema

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

23:56 11:56 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

32,981

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Crema 8,900 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Crema

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 Crema: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Crema is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,350 in Crema. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Crema, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $734 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $57 in Crema. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $556 in Crema. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Crema at $1,567. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Crema it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,567 in Crema. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Crema makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.