Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Elche

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,483 in Elche, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
72

Cost of Living Index in Elche
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Elche Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Elche

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,483 in Elche.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Elche $1,483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,201 in Elche.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Elche $2,201

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,918 in Elche.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Elche $2,918

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 19% less than in Elche, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Elche is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$16.65 €14.92

-34.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$56.2 €50.3

-22.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$11.17 €10.01

5.46%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.49 €2.23

53.01%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.41 €2.16

-46.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.86 €1.66

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.25 €2.91

-2.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.30 €2.95

49.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.11 €0.99

27.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.62 €1.45

37.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.55 €1.39

-8.39%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.03 €2.72

-16.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$14.30 €12.81

-49.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.91 €7.09

-2.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$13.54 €12.13

-6.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.55 €2.28

9.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.93 €1.73

-29.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.90 €1.70

34.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.42 €2.17

-12.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.74 €1.56

11.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.91 €1.71

-1.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.03 €0.93

11.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.70 €0.63

68.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$6.47 €5.80

-33.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.72 €5.12

73.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.06 €0.95

49.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.03 €0.92

159.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.42 €1.27

-61.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$22.72 €20.36

17.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.09 €2.77

60.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.87 €0.78

282.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$16.91 €15.15

-68.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.76 €1.58

-18.18%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$31.4K €28.1K

-34.18%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$31.8K €28.5K

-26.27%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$138 €123

-38.42%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$17.13 €15.35

36.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$26.35 €23.61

8.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$45.31 €40.60

25.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$11.11 €9.96

160.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.33 €6.56

-29.88%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$692 €620

-70.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$9,979 €8,942

-60.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$83.4 €74.7

-47.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$35.43 €31.75

16.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$85.8 €76.9

-13.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$86.9 €77.9

2.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$665 €596

47.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$585 €524

-34.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$967 €867

76.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$860 €771

25.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,033 €1,821

93.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,481 €1,327

315.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,599 €1,433

-54.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.3

246.97%

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 Elche: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Elche

$585 39.4% 53.6% $204

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Elche

$253 17.1% 0.7% $1.7

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Elche

$237 16% 16.9% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Elche

$181 12.2% 32.4% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Elche

$131 8.9% 17.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Elche

$60 4% 10.9% $7.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Elche

$36 2.4% 29% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $665 in Elche. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elche pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $56 in Elche. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $253, with Elche cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Elche

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

09:18 9:18 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

238,293

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Elche 8,300 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Elche

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 Elche: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 19% lower than in Elche. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 54% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $665 in Elche. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Elche runs roughly 15% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,483 in Elche – Playa del Carmen is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Elche on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.