Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dambulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Dambulla: $512 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Dambulla
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Dambulla Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Dambulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$512

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $512 in Dambulla, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Dambulla $512

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $830 in Dambulla, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dambulla $830

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,149 in Dambulla, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Dambulla $1,149

Playa del Carmen costs about 135% more than Dambulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Dambulla are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Dambulla 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.87 LKR 1,286

175.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$25.17 LKR 8,373

74.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.64 LKR 2,541

54.32%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.54 LKR 845

49.21%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.73 LKR 242

78.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.27 LKR 90.1

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.24 LKR 746

40.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.96 LKR 986

66.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.57 LKR 521

-10.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.53 LKR 177

315.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.76 LKR 252

93.42%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.63 LKR 542

53.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$15.09 LKR 5,020

-51.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.93 LKR 1,640

61.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.75 LKR 2,576

65.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$6.56 LKR 2,183

-55.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.88 LKR 291

56.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$4.11 LKR 1,367

-39.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.32 LKR 438

53.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.04 LKR 346

94.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.79 LKR 261

140.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.21 LKR 402

-5.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.43 LKR 142

188.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$10.30 LKR 3,426

-58.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.47 LKR 4,482

-27.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.97 LKR 655

-19.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.90 LKR 966

-5.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.38 LKR 125

1152.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.33 LKR 110

884.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$0.89 LKR 295

505.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.33 LKR 444

15.04%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$43.7K LKR 14.5M

-51.50%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

-49.54%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$58.0 LKR 19.3K

44.00%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$4.20 LKR 1,397

452.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.44 LKR 6,799

35.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$4.48 LKR 1,490

11.61%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$40.01 LKR 13.3K

417.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$17.0K LKR 5.7M

-69.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$18.27 LKR 6,075

137.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$17.34 LKR 5,767

145.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$78.8 LKR 26.2K

-7.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$42.20 LKR 14.0K

109.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.5

-8.40%

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 Dambulla: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Dambulla

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Dambulla

$242 47.3% 6% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Dambulla

$105 20.6% 47.3% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Dambulla

$83 16.2% 38.5% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Dambulla

$70 13.8% 36.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Dambulla

$9 * 1.8% 86.5% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dambulla

$2 * 0.4% 96% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $25 in Dambulla. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $242 – making Dambulla the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Dambulla

🕒 Local time

01:20 1:20 AM

11:50 11:50 AM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

68,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dambulla 16,570 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dambulla

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 Dambulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $512 in Dambulla – Dambulla comes out roughly 57% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $767 in Dambulla. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $25 in Dambulla. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Dambulla, where all-in costs run around $512, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Dambulla it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen 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 $512 in Dambulla to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.