Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Elmina

For one person, living is cheaper in Elmina: $668 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Elmina
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Elmina Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Elmina

🇬🇭 Ghana

$668

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $668 in Elmina, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Elmina $668

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,125 in Elmina, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Elmina $1,125

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,582 in Elmina, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Elmina $1,582

Playa del Carmen costs about 81% more than Elmina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Playa del Carmen and Elmina are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Elmina 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$7.82 GHS 91.0

37.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$50.8 GHS 591

-15.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$10.26 GHS 119

14.91%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.46 GHS 51.9

-13.23%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.53 GHS 17.85

-10.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.44 GHS 5.12

90.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.81 GHS 21.03

71.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.17 GHS 25.19

133.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$3.67 GHS 42.68

-60.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.67 GHS 19.37

33.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$3.06 GHS 35.63

-51.96%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.68 GHS 31.21

-5.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$12.03 GHS 140

-39.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.08 GHS 82.3

11.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.62 GHS 112

32.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.61 GHS 41.93

-19.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.40 GHS 16.32

2.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.77 GHS 20.58

44.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.56 GHS 41.44

-42.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.69 GHS 31.29

-25.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.65 GHS 30.82

-24.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.72 GHS 8.34

65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.60 GHS 7.02

110.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.51 GHS 29.19

75.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.06 GHS 82.1

35.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.21 GHS 14.10

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.33 GHS 27.14

20.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.74 GHS 20.29

186.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.26 GHS 14.65

177.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$4.30 GHS 50.0

25.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.34 GHS 15.58

9.70%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$7,913 GHS 92.0K

165.20%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$9,662 GHS 112.4K

147.44%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$73.7 GHS 857

14.26%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$19.07 GHS 222

25.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$42.25 GHS 491

-31.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$12.66 GHS 147

-60.98%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$470 GHS 5,464

-56.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$18.6K GHS 216.6K

-78.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$14.18 GHS 165

207.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$18.59 GHS 216

131.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$36.74 GHS 427

106.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$52.0 GHS 605

70.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

26.75

-57.20%

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 Elmina: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Elmina

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Elmina

$276 41.4% 6.9% $18

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Elmina

$168 25.2% 16.8% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Elmina

$135 20.2% 1.6% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Elmina

$55 8.2% 51.6% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Elmina

$25 * 3.8% 65.3% $48

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Elmina

$8 * 1.2% 84.7% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $51.0 in Elmina. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $276 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇭 Elmina

🕒 Local time

07:33 7:33 AM

12:33 12:33 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

34,403

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 GHS = 8.6 USD

100 GHS = 7.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GHS, USD, EUR 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).

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 11.63 GHS (100 GHS = 8.6 USD). 1 EUR = 13.07 GHS (100 GHS = 7.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Elmina 9,360 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Elmina

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 Elmina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 81%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,001 in Elmina. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $51.0 in Elmina. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 7% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Elmina, where all-in costs run around $668, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Elmina it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Elmina – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Elmina. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.