Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and El Nido Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and El Nido

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 41.2% more expensive than El Nido without rent, and 57.5% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 2.6% more expensive than El Nido without rent, and 76.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

$5.36 ₱319

121.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

$30.54 ₱1,815

37.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

$4.32 ₱257

144.21%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

$3.99 ₱237

-9.77%

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

$1.36 ₱80.8

10.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

$0.36 ₱21.59

152.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

$1.36 ₱80.9

126.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

$2.14 ₱127

108.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$1.88 ₱112

-26.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$1.22 ₱72.6

55.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$1.73 ₱103

-7.51%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$2.60 ₱154

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$8.18 ₱486

2.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$3.28 ₱195

163.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$8.13 ₱483

34.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$2.96 ₱176

-11.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$0.73 ₱43.61

97.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$2.71 ₱161

-27.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$2.11 ₱125

0.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$2.32 ₱138

-19.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$2.14 ₱127

3.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$1.06 ₱62.9

-3.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$0.72 ₱43.05

44.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$2.91 ₱173

39.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$6.05 ₱359

68.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$1.20 ₱71.4

40.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$2.00 ₱119

31.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

$0.36 ₱21.60

41.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$0.78 ₱46.54

303.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

$0.24 ₱14.30

925.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$2.09 ₱124

55.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

$1.04 ₱61.7

26.92%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

$27.0K ₱1.6M

11.46%

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

$20.5K ₱1.2M

15.88%

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$111 ₱6,620

-25.02%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$33.14 ₱1,970

-31.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$32.46 ₱1,929

-7.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

$33.33 ₱1,981

55.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

$4.46 ₱265

310.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$6.07 ₱361

-15.65%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$154 ₱9,148

30.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

$4,256 ₱253.0K

24.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$45.60 ₱2,710

-21.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$26.55 ₱1,578

51.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$76.6 ₱4,550

3.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$53.8 ₱3,200

65.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

$270 ₱16.0K

251.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

$178 ₱10.6K

171.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

$598 ₱35.6K

167.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

$398 ₱23.6K

204.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

$1,850 ₱110.0K

115.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

$772 ₱45.9K

728.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

$273 ₱16.2K

166.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

6.67

71.21%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 2026

Last update for El Nido: January 12, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuta, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova