Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Drobeta-Turnu Severin

For one person, living is cheaper in Drobeta-Turnu Severin: $885 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Drobeta-Turnu Severin
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Drobeta-Turnu Severin Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

🇷🇴 Romania

$885

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Drobeta-Turnu Severin

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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $885 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Drobeta-Turnu Severin $885

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,483 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Drobeta-Turnu Severin $1,483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,081 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Drobeta-Turnu Severin $2,081

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 36% more expensive than in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Drobeta-Turnu Severin 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$8.34 RON 39.64

27.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$41.68 RON 198

5.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.24 RON 34.41

62.85%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.20 RON 15.20

18.44%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.09 RON 9.95

-37.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.80 RON 8.55

-53.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.07 RON 14.59

2.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.92 RON 18.62

25.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.37 RON 6.52

2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.11 RON 5.28

98.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.38 RON 6.56

6.52%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.47 RON 16.52

-27.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.98 RON 37.92

-8.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.80 RON 27.57

37.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.80 RON 37.09

64.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.19 RON 5.65

143.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.56 RON 7.43

-11.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.48 RON 7.04

68.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.53 RON 12.04

-19.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.71 RON 3.38

184.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.61 RON 2.88

211.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.04 RON 4.93

9.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.87 RON 4.15

42.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$6.02 RON 28.61

-29.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.16 RON 34.02

37.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.91 RON 4.35

74.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.38 RON 6.56

99.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.63 RON 2.97

-19.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$22.28 RON 106

22.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.89 RON 4.25

434.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.87 RON 4.16

273.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$9.31 RON 44.23

-42.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.88 RON 8.92

-18.62%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$28.6K RON 135.9K

-25.83%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$25.3K RON 120.2K

-8.04%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$116 RON 551

-28.01%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$8.90 RON 42.31

160.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$12.27 RON 58.3

125.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$32.17 RON 153

75.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$21.19 RON 101

33.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.66 RON 31.64

-24.92%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$435 RON 2,068

-52.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$10.2K RON 48.7K

-48.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$101 RON 479

-56.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$38.50 RON 183

10.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$86.8 RON 413

-16.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$89.8 RON 427

-1.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$385 RON 1,830

158.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$170 RON 808

124.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$603 RON 2,864

177.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$458 RON 2,179

135.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,630 RON 7,747

139.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,544 RON 7,337

297.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$914 RON 4,343

-8.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.02

63.11%

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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$170 19.2% 55.5% $212

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$194 21.9% 24.6% $63

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$166 18.7% 17.3% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$137 15.5% 2.1% $2.9

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$142 16.1% 27.8% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$45 5.1% 31.5% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Drobeta-Turnu Severin

$30 3.4% 40.5% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $385 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Drobeta-Turnu Severin pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $42 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $194 per month, with Drobeta-Turnu Severin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Drobeta-Turnu Severin

🕒 Local time

21:18 9:18 PM

04:18 4:18 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

92,617

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Drobeta-Turnu Severin 9,860 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Drobeta-Turnu Severin

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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Drobeta-Turnu Severin is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 9% 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 $385 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Drobeta-Turnu Severin runs roughly 19% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $435 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $885 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Drobeta-Turnu Severin but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Drobeta-Turnu Severin 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 Drobeta-Turnu Severin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.