Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Drumheller

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,309 in Drumheller, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Drumheller
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Drumheller Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Drumheller

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,309

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,309 in Drumheller, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Drumheller $2,309

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,337 in Drumheller, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Drumheller $3,337

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,365 in Drumheller, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Drumheller $4,365

Playa del Carmen is about 48% cheaper than Drumheller, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Drumheller is 71% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$198

$19.21 CA$27.32

-43.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$791

$42.04 CA$59.8

2.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$217

$10.07 CA$14.32

17.08%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.1

$2.78 CA$3.95

39.21%

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

$1.37 MX$25.16

$1.47 CA$2.09

-6.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.37

$1.53 CA$2.17

-45.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.0

$3.55 CA$5.05

-12.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.1

$4.31 CA$6.12

17.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.41

$0.90 CA$1.29

60.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.02

$2.17 CA$3.09

2.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.04

$2.96 CA$4.21

-50.34%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.48

$3.55 CA$5.05

-28.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$134

$10.58 CA$15.04

-31.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$11.26 CA$16.00

-30.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$235

$18.72 CA$26.61

-31.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.3

$4.06 CA$5.77

-28.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.40

$1.38 CA$1.96

4.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$46.84

$4.32 CA$6.14

-40.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.84

$3.85 CA$5.47

-46.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.79

$1.50 CA$2.13

33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$36.88

$1.82 CA$2.59

10.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$21.91

$2.40 CA$3.41

-50.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.11

$1.81 CA$2.58

-30.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.0

$14.03 CA$19.95

-68.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$176

$11.05 CA$15.71

-13.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.27

$3.49 CA$4.96

-54.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.7

$2.96 CA$4.20

-5.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.41

$2.49 CA$3.53

-77.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$512

$64.5 CA$91.7

-56.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$91.7

$2.94 CA$4.18

69.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.3

$1.32 CA$1.88

165.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.3

$20.91 CA$29.73

-74.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$26.94

$1.09 CA$1.54

34.86%

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

$21.0K MX$385.9K

$28.1K CA$39.9K

-25.31%

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

$23.9K MX$439.6K

$19.7K CA$28.0K

21.46%

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

$84.2 MX$1,548

$230 CA$327

-63.36%

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

$23.99 MX$441

$42.93 CA$61.0

-44.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$534

$54.5 CA$77.4

-46.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,158

$37.05 CA$52.7

69.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$536

$16.51 CA$23.48

76.50%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$90.9

$12.57 CA$17.88

-60.70%

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

$204 MX$3,744

$756 CA$1,075

-73.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.5K

$9,299 CA$13.2K

-57.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$802

$44.15 CA$62.8

-1.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$793

$46.57 CA$66.2

-7.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,393

$83.6 CA$119

-9.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,629

$96.7 CA$137

-8.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.5K

$1,282 CA$1,823

-21.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,877

$1,107 CA$1,574

-66.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.4K

$1,802 CA$2,562

-5.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.3K

$1,871 CA$2,660

-40.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.5K

$4,809 CA$6,837

-17.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$113.4K

$3,272 CA$4,653

88.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.32

165.05%

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 Drumheller: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Drumheller

$1.1K 48% 196% $733

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Drumheller

$351 15.2% 35.8% $93

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Drumheller

$256 11.1% 26.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Drumheller

$327 14.2% 139% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Drumheller

$122 5.3% 7.9% $9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Drumheller

$62 2.7% 14.7% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Drumheller

$84 3.6% 59.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,282 in Drumheller. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $42.00 in Drumheller. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $351 in Drumheller – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Drumheller

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

16:51 4:51 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

8,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 18.39 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Drumheller 4,090 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Drumheller

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 Drumheller: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $2,309 in Drumheller – roughly 91% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,464 in Drumheller. 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $2,309 in Drumheller. That's a gap of about 91%.

Public transport costs about 132% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Drumheller at $2,309. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Drumheller 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $2,309 in Drumheller. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Drumheller makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.