Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Crikvenica

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,480 in Crikvenica, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Crikvenica
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Crikvenica Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Crikvenica

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,480

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,480 in Crikvenica.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Crikvenica $1,480

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,355 in Crikvenica.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Crikvenica $2,355

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,230 in Crikvenica.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Crikvenica $3,230

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 19% less than in Crikvenica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Crikvenica is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$13.35 €11.91

-20.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$72.2 €64.4

-39.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$7.63 €6.80

54.52%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$3.29 €2.93

15.20%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$3.09 €2.76

-57.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$2.94 €2.62

-71.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$5.52 €4.93

-42.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$4.60 €4.10

7.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.18 €1.05

19.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.57 €1.40

40.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$3.14 €2.80

-53.18%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$3.81 €3.40

-34.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$15.31 €13.66

-52.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$9.55 €8.52

-16.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$11.78 €10.50

9.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$1.71 €1.53

69.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.51 €1.35

-8.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.83 €1.63

36.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$2.58 €2.30

-21.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.38 €1.23

46.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.31 €1.17

45.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$1.32 €1.18

-13.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.32 €1.18

-6.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$5.74 €5.12

-25.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$7.94 €7.08

23.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.37 €1.22

16.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$1.46 €1.30

88.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$1.53 €1.37

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$49.30 €43.97

-44.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$5.54 €4.95

-14.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.48 €1.32

119.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$13.29 €11.86

-59.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.82 €1.62

-15.93%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$26.1K €23.3K

-18.69%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$24.3K €21.7K

-4.30%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$184 €164

-54.55%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$23.74 €21.17

-2.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$39.22 €34.98

-29.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$48.65 €43.39

15.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$15.85 €14.14

77.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$10.62 €9.47

-52.92%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$423 €377

-51.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$6,867 €6,126

-23.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$89.1 €79.5

-51.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$42.00 €37.47

1.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$104 €92.5

-29.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$79.5 €70.9

11.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$639 €570

55.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$448 €400

-14.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,119 €998

49.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$894 €797

20.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$3,802 €3,391

2.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$2,694 €2,403

127.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.72

207.80%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Crikvenica: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Crikvenica

$448 30.3% 17.2% $66

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Crikvenica

$276 18.6% 7.1% $18

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Crikvenica

$230 15.5% 14.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Crikvenica

$247 16.7% 83.7% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Crikvenica

$141 9.6% 27.2% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Crikvenica

$70 4.7% 5.2% $3.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Crikvenica

$68 4.6% 35.5% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $639 in Crikvenica. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $72 in Crikvenica for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $276 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇭🇷 Crikvenica

🕒 Local time

03:57 3:57 AM

09:57 9:57 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

11,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Crikvenica 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Crikvenica

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 Crikvenica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 19% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $2,221 in Crikvenica to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $639 in Crikvenica. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 44% less than in Crikvenica. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $423 in Crikvenica. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.