Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

For one person, living is cheaper in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia: $487 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia
Learn more

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$487

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

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 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $487 in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia $487

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $790 in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia $790

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,093 in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia $1,093

Playa del Carmen costs about 147% more than Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$1.49 LKR 494

628.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$25.02 LKR 8,286

76.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.49 LKR 2,481

57.01%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.54 LKR 840

44.88%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.73 LKR 240

83.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.27 LKR 90.3

203.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.22 LKR 736

37.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.00 LKR 993

64.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.62 LKR 537

-9.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.53 LKR 174

318.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.81 LKR 267

82.72%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.65 LKR 546

50.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.93 LKR 4,614

-46.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.85 LKR 1,606

64.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$7.54 LKR 2,496

66.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$6.42 LKR 2,125

-56.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$0.87 LKR 288

64.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.37 LKR 1,448

-40.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.29 LKR 426

65.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.00 LKR 332

102.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.78 LKR 259

155.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.88 LKR 291

29.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.45 LKR 149

166.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$10.38 LKR 3,439

-58.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$13.03 LKR 4,317

-23.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.89 LKR 626

-18.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.00 LKR 994

-11.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.38 LKR 125

1189.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.35 LKR 115

880.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$0.90 LKR 297

497.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.38 LKR 457

5.07%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$43.0K LKR 14.2M

-50.77%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$40.5K LKR 13.4M

-43.14%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$58.3 LKR 19.3K

46.36%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$4.28 LKR 1,418

448.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$20.80 LKR 6,888

36.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$4.59 LKR 1,519

11.11%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$38.36 LKR 12.7K

424.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$1,206 LKR 399.5K

227.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$18.46 LKR 6,116

140.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$16.53 LKR 5,474

150.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$78.6 LKR 26.0K

-7.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$42.38 LKR 14.0K

111.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$460 LKR 152.2K

265.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$215 LKR 71.4K

242.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.69

-9.77%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

$236 48.5% 8.6% $22

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

$86 17.7% 57.1% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

$83 17.1% 39.2% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

$70 14.4% 37.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

$9.2 * 1.9% 87.3% $63

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

$2.1 * 0.4% 95.9% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 242% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $25.00 in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $236 – making Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

🕒 Local time

05:22 5:22 AM

15:52 3:52 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

219,827

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 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 October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 16,640 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

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 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 147% more than Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $730 in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $25.00 in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 9% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, where all-in costs run around $487, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia costs $487 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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