Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Diego Martin

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,343 in Diego Martin, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Diego Martin
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Diego Martin Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Diego Martin

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,343

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Diego Martin

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,343 in Diego Martin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Diego Martin $1,343

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,296 in Diego Martin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Diego Martin $2,296

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,249 in Diego Martin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Diego Martin $3,249

Playa del Carmen is about 10% cheaper than Diego Martin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Diego Martin is 0% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$11.69 TTD 78.6

-7.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$87.3 TTD 587

-50.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$8.67 TTD 58.3

35.99%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.80 TTD 25.54

1.84%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.22 TTD 8.22

12.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.87 TTD 5.84

-3.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.23 TTD 14.97

39.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.74 TTD 25.14

35.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.46 TTD 16.53

-41.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.35 TTD 15.78

-5.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.78 TTD 18.73

-47.12%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.43 TTD 29.78

-42.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$6.79 TTD 45.69

7.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.89 TTD 66.5

-20.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$8.92 TTD 60.0

43.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$5.57 TTD 37.47

-47.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.45 TTD 16.50

-41.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.60 TTD 24.24

-29.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.30 TTD 28.93

-52.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.70 TTD 4.72

185.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.76 TTD 5.12

164.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.49 TTD 10.05

-20.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.17 TTD 7.85

7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$5.44 TTD 36.62

-19.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$17.52 TTD 118

-45.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.48 TTD 9.99

7.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.98 TTD 20.06

-5.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.87 TTD 5.83

-34.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$73.4 TTD 493

-62.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.00 TTD 6.73

398.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.91 TTD 6.15

284.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$14.85 TTD 99.9

-63.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.17 TTD 7.84

25.64%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$14.4K TTD 97.0K

45.49%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$41.3K TTD 278.0K

-42.16%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$44.68 TTD 301

88.47%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$41.43 TTD 279

-42.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$44.69 TTD 301

-35.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$43.24 TTD 291

45.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$8.84 TTD 59.5

-44.12%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$398 TTD 2,677

-48.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.7K TTD 71.9K

-63.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$53.9 TTD 362

-19.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$36.76 TTD 247

17.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$86.7 TTD 584

-12.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$88.5 TTD 595

0.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$666 TTD 4,481

51.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$434 TTD 2,917

-13.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,443 TTD 9,704

18.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$954 TTD 6,414

16.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,735 TTD 11.7K

-56.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.75

99.13%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Diego Martin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Diego Martin

$434 32.3% 16% $60

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Diego Martin

$324 24.1% 25.4% $66

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Diego Martin

$192 14.3% 5.1% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Diego Martin

$131 9.7% 4.7% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Diego Martin

$120 8.9% 5.9% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Diego Martin

$61 4.5% 16.4% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Diego Martin

$82 6.1% 56.7% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $666 in Diego Martin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 130% higher in Diego Martin, 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $87.0 in Diego Martin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $324 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇹 Diego Martin

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

06:41 6:41 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

25,370

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Diego Martin 2,940 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Diego Martin

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 Diego Martin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Diego Martin costs about 11% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,015 in Diego Martin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 25% more in Diego Martin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $87.0 in Diego Martin. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Diego Martin at $1,343. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Diego Martin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,210 versus $1,343 in Diego Martin. 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 Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Diego Martin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.