Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and El Viejo

For one person, living is cheaper in El Viejo: $818 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in El Viejo
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El Viejo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

El Viejo

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $818 in El Viejo.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
El Viejo $818

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,280 in El Viejo.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
El Viejo $1,280

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,741 in El Viejo.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
El Viejo $1,741

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 47% more expensive than in El Viejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, El Viejo 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.08 NIO 369

8.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$35.12 NIO 1,286

23.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.57 NIO 277

55.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.58 NIO 94.3

47.67%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.91 NIO 33.29

40.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.69 NIO 25.33

13.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.48 NIO 54.1

114.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.26 NIO 82.9

118.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.26 NIO 46.10

11.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$2.33 NIO 85.5

-4.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.87 NIO 68.4

-24.06%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.39 NIO 87.6

5.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.51 NIO 422

-36.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.35 NIO 233

21.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$7.56 NIO 277

67.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.11 NIO 150

-32.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$0.62 NIO 22.84

120.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.75 NIO 64.2

45.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.50 NIO 91.5

-15.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$3.97 NIO 145

-51.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$2.17 NIO 79.6

-12.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.08 NIO 39.61

6.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.02 NIO 37.18

15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$2.81 NIO 103

53.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$14.95 NIO 548

-33.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.41 NIO 51.6

12.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.23 NIO 81.8

19.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.65 NIO 60.5

201.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.60 NIO 58.6

108.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.74 NIO 247

-20.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.36 NIO 49.65

5.88%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$23.4K NIO 856.6K

-11.64%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$26.8K NIO 981.2K

-12.41%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$151 NIO 5,540

-43.95%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$19.54 NIO 716

19.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$31.99 NIO 1,172

-10.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$8.93 NIO 327

-42.44%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$234 NIO 8,571

-11.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,960 NIO 218.3K

-34.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$59.0 NIO 2,162

-26.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$65.7 NIO 2,407

-36.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$122 NIO 4,467

-39.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$142 NIO 5,212

-37.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.92

-3.94%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for El Viejo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

El Viejo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

El Viejo

$260 31.8% 2% $5.1

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

El Viejo

$153 18.7% 24.6% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

El Viejo

$203 24.8% 48.2% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

El Viejo

$175 21.4% 56.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

El Viejo

$18 * 2.2% 73.5% $49

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

El Viejo

$9.7 * 1.2% 80.9% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $35 in El Viejo. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $260, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇮 El Viejo

🕒 Local time

20:25 8:25 PM

19:25 7:25 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

33,607

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.77 NIO (100 NIO = 2.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen El Viejo 890 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
El Viejo

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 Viejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Viejo is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,227 in El Viejo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Dining out is cheaper in El Viejo – a meal for two runs $35 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $234 in El Viejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $818 in El Viejo versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in El Viejo but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes El Viejo 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.