Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Derby, Australia

Name: Derby
Address: Derby, AU

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,558 in Derby, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
121

Cost of Living Index in Derby
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Derby Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Derby

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,558

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,558 in Derby.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Derby $2,558

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,658 in Derby.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Derby $3,658

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,757 in Derby.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Derby $4,757

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 53% less than in Derby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Derby is 89% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$17.51 A$25.13

-39.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$84.1 A$121

-47.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$10.55 A$15.14

11.75%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$4.03 A$5.79

-5.96%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$2.83 A$4.06

-54.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$2.24 A$3.22

-62.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$7.73 A$11.09

-59.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$7.37 A$10.57

-33.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.50 A$2.15

-6.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$2.64 A$3.79

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$2.29 A$3.29

-35.81%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$4.99 A$7.15

-49.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$9.35 A$13.41

-22.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$9.10 A$13.05

-12.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$14.87 A$21.34

-13.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$3.83 A$5.50

-24.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$2.98 A$4.28

-53.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$3.29 A$4.71

-24.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$4.76 A$6.82

-57.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$2.66 A$3.82

-24.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$2.47 A$3.54

-23.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$2.42 A$3.47

-52.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.54 A$2.21

-19.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$41.74 A$59.9

-89.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$14.17 A$20.33

-30.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$4.75 A$6.82

-66.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$5.21 A$7.48

-47.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$2.72 A$3.90

-81.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$84.3 A$121

-67.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$3.58 A$5.14

32.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.60 A$2.29

103.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$39.56 A$56.8

-86.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.32 A$1.90

15.91%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$29.4K A$42.1K

-27.76%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$26.1K A$37.5K

-10.91%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$204 A$293

-59.08%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$28.30 A$40.60

-18.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$57.0 A$81.7

-51.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$55.3 A$79.4

2.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$17.92 A$25.71

57.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$13.94 A$20.00

-64.13%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$2,120 A$3,042

-90.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$20.3K A$29.1K

-74.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$77.4 A$111

-43.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$55.2 A$79.3

-22.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$109 A$157

-33.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$121 A$173

-26.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$1,402 A$2,012

-29.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$1,255 A$1,801

-69.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$2,271 A$3,259

-26.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,836 A$2,634

-41.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$5,908 A$8,476

-33.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$4,962 A$7,119

23.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.9

94.07%

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 Derby: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Derby

$1.3K 49.1% 228% $873

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Derby

$366 14.3% 42.3% $109

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Derby

$294 11.5% 46.7% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Derby

$289 11.3% 116% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Derby

$163 6.4% 46.8% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Derby

$83 3.3% 25.2% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Derby

$107 4.2% 112% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $1,402 in Derby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $84 in Derby for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $366 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Derby

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

14:16 2:16 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,300

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1 AUD = 0.697 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR 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 = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.697 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Derby 16,770 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Derby

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 Derby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $2,558 in Derby, so Playa del Carmen is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $3,837 in Derby 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 $1,402 in Derby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Derby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $84 in Derby. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,558 in Derby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Derby. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Derby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.