Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dunedin

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,794 in Dunedin, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
87

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,794 in Dunedin.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Dunedin $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,661 in Dunedin.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Dunedin $2,661

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,527 in Dunedin.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Dunedin $3,527

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 33% less than in Dunedin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Dunedin is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$13.81 NZ$24.43

-22.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$61.7 NZ$109

-30.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.05 NZ$19.54

6.70%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.28 NZ$5.80

17.99%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.03 NZ$3.58

-32.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$2.04 NZ$3.61

-58.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$6.74 NZ$11.92

-54.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$6.27 NZ$11.09

-19.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.13 NZ$3.77

-32.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.96 NZ$3.47

13.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.68 NZ$2.98

-12.50%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$5.75 NZ$10.16

-56.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.54 NZ$15.10

-14.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.45 NZ$16.72

-16.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$16.50 NZ$29.19

-22.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.00 NZ$5.30

-3.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.39 NZ$4.22

-39.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.14 NZ$5.56

-18.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.93 NZ$8.72

-58.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.85 NZ$3.28

8.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.82 NZ$3.22

10.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$2.34 NZ$4.13

-49.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.59 NZ$1.04

113.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$20.71 NZ$36.63

-78.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$8.90 NZ$15.75

7.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$3.09 NZ$5.47

-48.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.20 NZ$2.12

134.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.11 NZ$1.96

-48.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$66.0 NZ$117

-57.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$5.46 NZ$9.66

-8.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$27.62 NZ$48.84

-80.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.76 NZ$3.12

-16.48%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$25.6K NZ$45.2K

-17.92%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$24.9K NZ$44.0K

-3.94%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$111 NZ$196

-24.11%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$28.15 NZ$49.78

-14.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$52.5 NZ$92.9

-44.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$47.73 NZ$84.4

31.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$10.36 NZ$18.33

-52.32%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$570 NZ$1,009

-64.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$58.9 NZ$104

-25.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$34.56 NZ$61.1

24.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$92.5 NZ$164

-18.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$132 NZ$234

-33.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$873 NZ$1,545

15.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$749 NZ$1,324

-50.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,480 NZ$2,617

15.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,148 NZ$2,031

-3.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,200 NZ$3,890

180.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$2,425 NZ$4,288

-68.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.07

61.95%

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 Dunedin: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Dunedin

$749 41.7% 100% $375

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Dunedin

$321 17.9% 24.1% $62

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Dunedin

$246 13.7% 21.4% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Dunedin

$192 10.7% 39.7% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Dunedin

$143 8% 26.7% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Dunedin

$68 3.8% 6.1% $4.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Dunedin

$76 * 4.2% 44.4% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $873 in Dunedin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunedin pays 222% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $62.0 in Dunedin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $321 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🕒 Local time

19:20 7:20 PM

13:20 1:20 PM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

105,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dunedin 12,580 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dunedin

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 Dunedin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Dunedin differ by about 48% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $1,794 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 222% lower in Dunedin. 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $873 in Dunedin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 137% less than in Dunedin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $570 in Dunedin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,794 in Dunedin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dunedin. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Dunedin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Dunedin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.