Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dumaguete

For one person, living is cheaper in Dumaguete: $790 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Dumaguete
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Dumaguete Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Dumaguete

🇵🇭 Philippines

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $790 in Dumaguete.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Dumaguete $790

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,195 in Dumaguete.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dumaguete $1,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,600 in Dumaguete.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Dumaguete $1,600

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 52% more expensive than in Dumaguete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Dumaguete 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.82 ₱242

185.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$15.47 ₱982

180.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.23 ₱268

178.49%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.22 ₱141

71.62%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.72 ₱45.42

77.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.43 ₱27.00

81.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$1.37 ₱86.9

131.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$1.83 ₱116

169.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.66 ₱105

-15.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.31 ₱83.3

69.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$0.92 ₱58.6

54.35%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.79 ₱113

40.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.57 ₱544

-15.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$4.40 ₱279

75.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$6.86 ₱436

84.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.54 ₱97.6

80.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.27 ₱80.8

7.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$3.44 ₱218

-25.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.28 ₱81.0

65.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.52 ₱160

-23.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.58 ₱100

19.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.81 ₱51.7

41.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.57 ₱36.14

107.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$2.32 ₱148

85.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$8.45 ₱537

17.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.14 ₱72.3

38.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.27 ₱80.7

110.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.30 ₱18.99

83.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$11.33 ₱720

134.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$0.69 ₱43.72

620.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.15 ₱9.38

2120.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$2.13 ₱135

151.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.09 ₱69.3

32.11%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$20.2K ₱1.3M

2.15%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

23.28%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$66.5 ₱4,220

27.60%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$9.65 ₱613

142.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$26.12 ₱1,659

9.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$31.13 ₱1,977

83.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$3.83 ₱243

654.83%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$7.19 ₱457

-28.51%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$56.4 ₱3,585

265.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$1,650 ₱104.8K

138.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$93.0 ₱5,908

-53.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$31.24 ₱1,984

32.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$100 ₱6,372

-26.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$111 ₱7,020

-19.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$233 ₱14.8K

319.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$202 ₱12.9K

88.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$416 ₱26.4K

310.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$344 ₱21.9K

212.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$3,045 ₱193.4K

29.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$674 ₱42.8K

813.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$278 ₱17.6K

164.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

63.57%

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 Dumaguete: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Dumaguete

$202 25.6% 46.9% $178

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Dumaguete

$190 24.1% 25.3% $65

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Dumaguete

$85 10.8% 58.1% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Dumaguete

$102 12.9% 25.3% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Dumaguete

$151 19.1% 35% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Dumaguete

$46 5.8% 32.4% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dumaguete

$14 1.8% 72.3% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $233 in Dumaguete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $15 in Dumaguete for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $190 per month, with Dumaguete cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Dumaguete

🕒 Local time

13:23 1:23 PM

02:23 2:23 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

134,103

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.51 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 70.87 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dumaguete 15,310 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dumaguete

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 Dumaguete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $790 in Dumaguete, so Dumaguete is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $233 in Dumaguete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $790 in Dumaguete – Dumaguete is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Dumaguete runs roughly 57% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $790 in Dumaguete versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Dumaguete but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Dumaguete 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 Dumaguete gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.