Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dessau

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,807 in Dessau, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Dessau
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Dessau Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Dessau

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,807

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,807 in Dessau.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Dessau $1,807

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,882 in Dessau.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dessau $2,882

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,958 in Dessau.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Dessau $3,958

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 33% less than in Dessau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Dessau is 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$17.07 €15.22

-37.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$80.5 €71.8

-45.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$15.60 €13.91

-24.42%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$4.43 €3.95

-14.45%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$3.72 €3.32

-65.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$4.16 €3.71

-80.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$5.13 €4.58

-38.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$5.69 €5.08

-13.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.34 €1.19

5.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$2.06 €1.84

6.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$3.78 €3.38

-61.11%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$3.50 €3.13

-28.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$9.86 €8.79

-26.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$11.99 €10.70

-33.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$21.60 €19.26

-40.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$3.41 €3.05

-14.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$2.06 €1.84

-33.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$2.09 €1.86

19.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$3.67 €3.27

-44.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.26 €1.12

60.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.16 €1.03

63.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$1.62 €1.44

-29.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.21 €1.08

2.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$9.19 €8.20

-53.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$6.60 €5.89

48.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.12 €1.00

41.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$1.68 €1.50

63.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$2.64 €2.36

-80.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$65.6 €58.5

-58.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$4.90 €4.38

-2.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$2.49 €2.22

30.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$34.20 €30.51

-84.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$2.04 €1.82

-25.00%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$33.3K €29.7K

-36.26%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$38.7K €34.5K

-39.84%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$286 €255

-70.84%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$26.00 €23.19

-10.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$51.0 €45.50

-45.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$68.9 €61.4

-18.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$22.40 €19.98

25.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$11.99 €10.69

-58.30%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$306 €273

-32.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$74.1 €66.1

-41.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$45.83 €40.88

-7.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$133 €119

-45.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$170 €151

-47.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$451 €402

120.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$439 €391

-12.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$726 €647

130.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$977 €871

10.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$3,331 €2,971

17.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,737 €1,550

253.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$2,173 €1,938

-61.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.95

189.87%

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 Dessau: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Dessau

$439 24.3% 14.8% $56

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Dessau

$323 17.9% 25.4% $65

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Dessau

$305 16.9% 52.3% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Dessau

$363 20.1% 171% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Dessau

$190 10.5% 71% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Dessau

$93 5.1% 39.7% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dessau

$94 5.2% 85.4% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $451 in Dessau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dessau pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $81 in Dessau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $323 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇪 Dessau

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

03:01 3:01 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

68,116

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dessau 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dessau

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 Dessau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 33% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 62% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $451 in Dessau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Dessau. 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 $81 in Dessau. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,807 in Dessau, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dessau. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Dessau on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.