Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Desamparados

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,697 in Desamparados, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Desamparados
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Desamparados Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Desamparados

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,697

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,697 in Desamparados, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Desamparados $1,697

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,731 in Desamparados, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Desamparados $2,731

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,765 in Desamparados, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Desamparados $3,765

Playa del Carmen is about 29% cheaper than Desamparados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Desamparados is 25% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$12.16 ₡5,489

-10.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$53.7 ₡24.3K

-19.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$11.05 ₡4,990

6.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.79 ₡1,710

0.53%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.79 ₡1,259

-54.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.70 ₡768

-54.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.81 ₡1,269

12.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.92 ₡1,771

25.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.22 ₡1,003

-36.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$2.81 ₡1,270

-21.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.44 ₡1,101

-41.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.60 ₡1,624

-30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.27 ₡4,636

-29.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.98 ₡4,505

-22.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$13.22 ₡5,969

-4.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$5.05 ₡2,280

-44.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.56 ₡703

-12.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$3.52 ₡1,590

-27.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$3.09 ₡1,395

-31.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$2.82 ₡1,274

-31.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$2.89 ₡1,304

-34.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.13 ₡508

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$2.64 ₡1,190

-55.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$5.78 ₡2,611

-25.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$18.33 ₡8,273

-45.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$2.56 ₡1,156

-38.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.99 ₡1,352

-10.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.29 ₡583

-57.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.18 ₡986

127.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.82 ₡822

82.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.93 ₡4,033

-39.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.52 ₡686

-5.26%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$33.6K ₡15.2M

-38.53%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$36.6K ₡16.5M

-35.80%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$83.8 ₡37.8K

1.17%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$26.77 ₡12.1K

-12.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$66.8 ₡30.2K

-57.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$63.1 ₡28.5K

-9.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.25 ₡3,273

-29.10%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$846 ₡382.0K

-75.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$17.2K ₡7.8M

-77.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$76.4 ₡34.5K

-43.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$58.1 ₡26.2K

-28.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$121 ₡54.6K

-38.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$141 ₡63.5K

-36.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$824 ₡372.0K

18.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$667 ₡301.1K

-42.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,711 ₡772.6K

-0.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,449 ₡654.1K

-25.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.62

32.83%

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 Desamparados: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Desamparados

$667 39.3% 75.2% $286

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Desamparados

$365 21.5% 43.2% $110

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Desamparados

$216 12.7% 6.6% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Desamparados

$177 10.5% 29.6% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Desamparados

$178 10.5% 59.6% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Desamparados

$78 4.6% 15.3% $10

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Desamparados

$16 * 1% 67.4% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $824 in Desamparados. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $54 in Desamparados. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $365 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Desamparados

🕒 Local time

05:23 5:23 AM

04:23 4:23 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

38,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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 = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Desamparados 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Desamparados

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 Desamparados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,697 in Desamparados – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 29% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,546 in Desamparados. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Desamparados, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $824 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $54 in Desamparados. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Desamparados, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Desamparados at $1,697. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Desamparados 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,697 in Desamparados. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.