Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Edessa

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,452 in Edessa, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Edessa
Learn more

Edessa Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Edessa

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,452

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,452 in Edessa.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Edessa $1,452

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,139 in Edessa.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Edessa $2,139

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,826 in Edessa.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Edessa $2,826

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 17% less than in Edessa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Edessa is 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$16.70 €14.84

-36.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$53.4 €47.40

-17.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$9.78 €8.69

20.55%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.38 €3.00

12.13%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.87 €1.66

-30.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.59 €0.52

40.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.84 €3.41

-17.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.55 €4.04

8.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.51 €1.34

-6.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.24 €1.10

77.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.01 €1.78

-26.87%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$4.31 €3.83

-42.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$14.17 €12.59

-48.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$8.33 €7.40

-4.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.08 €11.62

-1.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.19 €1.95

32.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.97 €1.75

-29.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$1.75 €1.56

42.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$2.21 €1.96

-8.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.22 €1.08

65.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.27 €1.13

49.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.93 €0.83

22.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.78 €0.70

58.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.69 €5.06

-24.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.16 €6.36

37.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.67 €1.48

-4.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.51 €2.23

9.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.39 €1.23

-63.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$51.2 €45.46

-46.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$4.37 €3.89

8.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.98 €0.87

231.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$16.91 €15.02

-68.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.25 €2.00

-32.00%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$31.8K €28.3K

-33.33%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$27.6K €24.5K

-15.75%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$254 €226

-67.18%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$25.60 €22.74

-9.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$34.87 €30.97

-20.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$48.68 €43.24

15.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$21.39 €19.00

31.79%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.10 €8.08

-45.05%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$413 €367

-49.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$10.1K €8,998

-48.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$87.7 €77.9

-50.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$39.41 €35.00

7.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$94.1 €83.6

-22.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$125 €111

-29.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$343 €305

189.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$343 €304

11.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$590 €524

183.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$466 €414

131.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,345 €1,195

190.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,204 €1,958

178.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$767 €682

8.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.44

157.88%

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 Edessa: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Edessa

$343 23.6% 10.4% $40

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Edessa

$264 18.2% 2.6% $6.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Edessa

$242 16.7% 20.7% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Edessa

$315 21.7% 135% $181

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Edessa

$156 10.7% 40.2% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Edessa

$67 4.6% 0.7% $0.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Edessa

$66 4.6% 30.9% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $343 in Edessa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 8% 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 $53 in Edessa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $264 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇷 Edessa

🕒 Local time

23:51 11:51 PM

06:51 6:51 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

18,253

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Edessa 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Edessa

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 Edessa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,452 in Edessa, so Playa del Carmen is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $343 in Edessa. 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 46% less than in Edessa. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $413 in Edessa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.