Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Entebbe

For one person, living is cheaper in Entebbe: $512 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Entebbe
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Entebbe Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Entebbe

🇺🇬 Uganda

$512

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $512 in Entebbe.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Entebbe $512

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $803 in Entebbe.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Entebbe $803

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,095 in Entebbe.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Entebbe $1,095

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 135% more expensive than in Entebbe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Entebbe 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$2.47 UGX 10.8K

342.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$23.92 UGX 104.8K

81.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$6.84 UGX 30.0K

72.22%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.93 UGX 8,465

97.41%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.23 UGX 1,002

456.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.23 UGX 1,000

239.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$0.87 UGX 3,797

264.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$1.22 UGX 5,322

304.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$0.76 UGX 3,331

85.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$0.93 UGX 4,055

138.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.26 UGX 5,524

12.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$1.58 UGX 6,911

59.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$4.19 UGX 18.4K

73.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.54 UGX 19.9K

69.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$4.87 UGX 21.3K

160.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.01 UGX 8,792

38.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.20 UGX 5,258

14.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.24 UGX 5,449

105.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.19 UGX 5,231

78.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.22 UGX 5,351

59.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.18 UGX 5,162

60.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.72 UGX 3,148

59.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.47 UGX 2,049

151.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$2.34 UGX 10.3K

83.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

40.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.09 UGX 4,779

44.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.89 UGX 8,282

41.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.47 UGX 2,045

17.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.46 UGX 2,032

980.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.31 UGX 1,363

974.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.96 UGX 13.0K

81.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.18 UGX 5,168

22.03%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$7,146 UGX 31.3M

189.18%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$7,325 UGX 32.1M

220.35%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$67.4 UGX 295.2K

25.82%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$11.16 UGX 48.9K

109.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$34.41 UGX 150.7K

-16.71%

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

$7.31 UGX 32.0K

-29.69%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$249 UGX 1.1M

-16.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,238 UGX 36.1M

-52.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$13.60 UGX 59.6K

218.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$12.50 UGX 54.8K

231.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$31.80 UGX 139.3K

133.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$42.31 UGX 185.3K

110.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$215 UGX 941.9K

355.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$119 UGX 520.4K

220.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$355 UGX 1.6M

381.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$245 UGX 1.1M

339.67%

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

$118 UGX 518.3K

520.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

20.75

-44.82%

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 Entebbe: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Entebbe

$119 23.2% 68.8% $262

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Entebbe

$144 28.2% 43.4% $111

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Entebbe

$72 14.1% 64.4% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Entebbe

$113 22.1% 17.4% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Entebbe

$45 8.8% 59.6% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Entebbe

$15 * 2.9% 78.3% $53

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Entebbe

$3.9 * 0.8% 92.3% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $215 in Entebbe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 6.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $24 in Entebbe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $144 per month, with Entebbe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇬 Entebbe

🕒 Local time

09:11 9:11 AM

17:11 5:11 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

69,958

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, 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 = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,888 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Entebbe 13,060 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Entebbe

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 Entebbe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $512 in Entebbe, so Entebbe is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 6.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $215 in Entebbe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $512 in Entebbe – Entebbe is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $512 in Entebbe versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Entebbe but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Entebbe 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.

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