Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dun Laoghaire

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,761 in Dun Laoghaire, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 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
134

Cost of Living Index in Dun Laoghaire
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Dun Laoghaire Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Dun Laoghaire

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,761

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Dun Laoghaire

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,761 in Dun Laoghaire, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Dun Laoghaire $2,761

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,416 in Dun Laoghaire, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Dun Laoghaire $4,416

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $6,071 in Dun Laoghaire, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Dun Laoghaire $6,071

Playa del Carmen is about 56% cheaper than Dun Laoghaire, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Dun Laoghaire is 105% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$22.06 €19.62

-51.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$101 €90.3

-57.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$13.49 €12.00

-12.60%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.97 €4.42

-22.13%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.99 €2.66

-54.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$2.23 €1.98

-62.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$7.79 €6.93

-60.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$7.51 €6.68

-32.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.61 €1.43

-10.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.35 €2.09

-5.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.07 €1.84

-28.99%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.20 €3.74

-39.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$9.95 €8.85

-26.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$11.07 €9.85

-29.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$13.54 €12.04

-5.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.82 €2.51

2.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.14 €1.90

-32.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.78 €2.47

-8.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.04 €3.59

-49.01%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.93 €1.71

3.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.53 €1.36

31.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.31 €1.17

-9.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.84 €1.64

-31.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$20.35 €18.10

-78.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$13.51 €12.01

-29.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$3.32 €2.95

-52.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.51 €3.12

-19.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.31 €2.06

-75.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$5.09 €4.52

-2.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.43 €1.27

144.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$37.78 €33.60

-85.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.13 €1.89

-30.99%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$38.3K €34.1K

-45.24%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$37.4K €33.3K

-36.09%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$244 €217

-65.52%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$18.03 €16.03

33.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$51.2 €45.51

-43.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$58.3 €51.9

7.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$15.38 €13.68

-67.88%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$989 €880

-79.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,432 €4,831

-27.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$99.0 €88.0

-55.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$47.48 €42.23

-9.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$112 €99.2

-32.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$131 €116

-32.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,470 €1,307

-31.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$1,475 €1,312

-74.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$3,599 €3,201

-52.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$3,146 €2,798

-64.85%

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

$4,296 €3,821

-82.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.82

199.74%

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 Dun Laoghaire: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Dun Laoghaire

$1.5K 53.4% 294% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Dun Laoghaire

$336 12.2% 29.8% $77

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Dun Laoghaire

$351 12.7% 73.8% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Dun Laoghaire

$313 11.4% 128% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Dun Laoghaire

$175 6.3% 54.8% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Dun Laoghaire

$89 3.2% 22.3% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Dun Laoghaire

$22 * 0.8% 59.1% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,470 in Dun Laoghaire. 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 470% higher in Dun Laoghaire, 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 $101 in Dun Laoghaire. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $336 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇪 Dun Laoghaire

🕒 Local time

23:37 11:37 PM

05:37 5:37 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

38,761

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dun Laoghaire 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dun Laoghaire

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 Dun Laoghaire: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $2,761 in Dun Laoghaire – roughly 128% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,142 in Dun Laoghaire. 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $101 in Dun Laoghaire. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 30% more in Dun Laoghaire, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Dun Laoghaire at $2,761. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dun Laoghaire 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 $2,761 in Dun Laoghaire. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Dun Laoghaire makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.