Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cusco

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $690 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
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Cusco Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $690 in Cusco.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cusco $690

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,105 in Cusco.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cusco $1,105

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,519 in Cusco.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cusco $1,519

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 74% more expensive than in Cusco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Cusco 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$2.01 PEN 6.95

443.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$20.14 PEN 69.5

115.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$6.38 PEN 22.01

84.64%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.17 PEN 7.48

75.58%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.74 PEN 2.54

72.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.33 PEN 1.12

136.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.79 PEN 6.18

77.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$4.29 PEN 14.81

14.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.29 PEN 4.46

9.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$2.33 PEN 8.03

-4.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.28 PEN 4.40

10.94%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.51 PEN 12.11

-28.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$4.91 PEN 16.94

47.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.39 PEN 15.14

75.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$7.41 PEN 25.58

71.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.67 PEN 9.23

4.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$0.77 PEN 2.66

77.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.47 PEN 5.07

73.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$0.91 PEN 3.13

132.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.00 PEN 3.44

94.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.06 PEN 3.66

78.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.53 PEN 1.83

116.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.74 PEN 2.56

59.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.68 PEN 19.59

75.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.86 PEN 6.44

-15.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$4.17 PEN 14.39

-35.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.28 PEN 0.95

96.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.76 PEN 6.06

182.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.92 PEN 6.62

73.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.88 PEN 9.93

86.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.56 PEN 5.38

-7.69%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$28.5K PEN 98.2K

-17.54%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$29.26 PEN 101

189.78%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$14.44 PEN 49.85

62.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$43.40 PEN 150

-33.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$29.55 PEN 102

93.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$4.43 PEN 15.30

16.03%

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

$207 MX$3,848

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$37.57 PEN 130

15.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$33.55 PEN 116

23.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$53.9 PEN 186

37.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$73.3 PEN 253

21.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$218 PEN 754

348.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$192 PEN 664

97.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$535 PEN 1,846

219.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$426 PEN 1,469

152.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,237 PEN 11.2K

21.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,882 PEN 6,496

227.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$430 PEN 1,484

70.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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 Cusco: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cusco

$192 27.9% 49.5% $188

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cusco

$188 27.2% 26.3% $67

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cusco

$83 12% 59% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cusco

$87 12.6% 36.3% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cusco

$89 12.9% 20.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cusco

$38 5.6% 42.9% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cusco

$12 * 1.8% 75.3% $38

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 $218 in Cusco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 71% 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 $20 in Cusco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $188 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇪 Cusco

🕒 Local time

01:27 1:27 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

428,450

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Cusco 4,140 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Cusco

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 Cusco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cusco is about 43% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 71% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $218 in Cusco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $20 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $690 in Cusco versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco 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 – Cusco 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.