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 22.5% more expensive than El Nido without rent, and 57.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 31.9% more expensive than El Nido without rent, and 73.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$212

$5.48 ₱324

116.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$755

$29.90 ₱1,769

41.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$192

$4.20 ₱248

155.95%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$62.2

$3.83 ₱227

-9.40%

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

$1.45 MX$26.01

$1.34 ₱79.5

8.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$16.16

$0.39 ₱23.26

130.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$54.7

$1.35 ₱79.7

125.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$79.1

$2.12 ₱125

108.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.51

$1.82 ₱108

-24.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.51

$1.21 ₱71.6

54.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.63

$1.80 ₱106

-14.44%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.81

$2.60 ₱154

-3.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$154

$8.21 ₱486

4.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$155

$3.30 ₱195

161.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$197

$8.29 ₱490

32.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$49.22

$3.00 ₱178

-8.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.56

$0.74 ₱44.03

93.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.52

$2.69 ₱159

-30.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.80

$2.16 ₱128

0.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.70

$2.29 ₱135

-17.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$40.21

$2.10 ₱124

7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$19.11

$1.11 ₱65.4

-3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.22

$0.76 ₱45.18

40.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$74.4

$2.83 ₱167

46.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$185

$8.47 ₱501

22.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$30.06

$1.16 ₱68.4

44.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$44.46

$1.96 ₱116

26.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.93

$0.34 ₱20.04

61.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$475

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$57.6

$0.79 ₱46.67

307.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$44.42

$0.22 ₱12.99

1027.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$55.7

$2.11 ₱125

47.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.48

$1.08 ₱63.8

16.67%

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

$30.7K MX$548.8K

$26.2K ₱1.5M

17.13%

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

$24.0K MX$430.3K

$20.4K ₱1.2M

17.95%

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

$82.5 MX$1,476

$114 ₱6,728

-27.46%

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

$22.29 MX$399

$33.33 ₱1,972

-33.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$537

$32.00 ₱1,893

-6.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$921

$33.58 ₱1,987

53.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$327

$4.34 ₱257

321.43%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$89.2

$6.06 ₱358

-17.82%

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

$200 MX$3,580

$149 ₱8,827

34.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$94.9K

$4,301 ₱254.5K

23.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$639

$45.17 ₱2,672

-20.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$708

$26.95 ₱1,595

46.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,442

$75.8 ₱4,483

6.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,581

$52.9 ₱3,128

67.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.4K

$271 ₱16.0K

258.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,632

$175 ₱10.3K

176.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.6K

$579 ₱34.3K

175.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$21.2K

$392 ₱23.2K

202.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$72.5K

$2,728 ₱161.4K

48.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$116.7K

$636 ₱37.7K

924.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.5K

$270 ₱16.0K

179.74%

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: March 3, 2026

Last update for El Nido: March 1, 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

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