Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and El Medano

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,447 in El Medano, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in El Medano
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El Medano Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

El Medano

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,447

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in El Medano

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,447 in El Medano, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
El Medano $1,447

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,394 in El Medano, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
El Medano $2,394

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,342 in El Medano, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
El Medano $3,342

Playa del Carmen is about 16% cheaper than El Medano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while El Medano is 7% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$20.37 €18.12

-47.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$61.7 €54.9

-30.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.38 €10.13

3.60%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.99 €1.77

94.47%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.90 €1.69

-27.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.30 €1.16

-35.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.76 €2.45

12.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.28 €2.91

54.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.32 €1.18

9.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.41 €2.14

-7.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.59 €1.41

-7.55%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.18 €3.72

-39.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$14.57 €12.96

-49.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.25 €8.23

-15.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$17.98 €15.99

-28.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.48 €2.21

16.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.28 €2.03

-36.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.25 €2.00

13.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.53 €2.25

-18.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.10 €1.87

-4.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.93 €1.72

4.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.64 €1.46

-27.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.98 €0.87

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$5.52 €4.91

-20.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.73 €6.88

24.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.68 €1.50

-5.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.38 €1.23

103.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.67 €1.49

-65.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$25.49 €22.67

9.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.08 €3.63

22.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.73 €1.54

102.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$16.58 €14.75

-67.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.25 €1.11

17.60%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$27.1K €24.1K

-22.67%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$28.8K €25.7K

-17.13%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$98.8 €87.9

-14.76%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$22.46 €19.98

6.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$35.17 €31.28

-17.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$44.58 €39.66

41.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$15.75 €14.01

85.02%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$9.90 €8.81

-50.10%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$407 €362

-49.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,118 €4,553

-23.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$92.2 €82.0

-52.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$41.86 €37.24

3.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$90.2 €80.3

-16.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$114 €102

-22.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$895 €796

12.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$468 €416

-20.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,354 €1,205

26.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,027 €913

7.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,258 €2,898

21.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,228 €1,982

176.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.56

221.63%

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 El Medano: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

El Medano

$468 32.3% 25.1% $94

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

El Medano

$307 21.2% 18.8% $49

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

El Medano

$254 17.6% 25.7% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

El Medano

$156 10.8% 14% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

El Medano

$152 10.5% 34.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

El Medano

$64 4.5% 11.7% $8.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

El Medano

$45 3.1% 14.6% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $895 in El Medano. 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 $62.0 in El Medano. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $307 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 El Medano

🕒 Local time

21:09 9:09 PM

03:09 3:09 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,500

💱 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen El Medano 7,100 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
El Medano

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 El Medano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $1,447 in El Medano – roughly 20% 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 $2,171 in El Medano. 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.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $407 in El Medano. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 19% more in El Medano, 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 El Medano at $1,447. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in El Medano 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 $1,447 in El Medano. 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, El Medano makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.