Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Escazu

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,934 in Escazu, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
93

Cost of Living Index in Escazu
Learn more

Escazu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Escazu

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,934 in Escazu.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Escazu $1,934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,959 in Escazu.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Escazu $2,959

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,984 in Escazu.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Escazu $3,984

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 38% less than in Escazu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Escazu is 43% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$12.06 ₡5,423

-11.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$61.8 ₡27.8K

-29.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$11.76 ₡5,287

0.26%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$4.49 ₡2,020

-15.59%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$2.66 ₡1,195

-51.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$1.91 ₡860

-56.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$3.35 ₡1,504

-5.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$4.34 ₡1,952

13.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$2.45 ₡1,100

-42.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$3.09 ₡1,389

-28.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$2.50 ₡1,124

-41.20%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$3.45 ₡1,550

-27.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$10.68 ₡4,803

-31.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$10.28 ₡4,621

-22.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$14.14 ₡6,358

-9.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$5.16 ₡2,322

-43.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.57 ₡704

-12.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$3.23 ₡1,452

-22.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$3.00 ₡1,350

-32.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$3.79 ₡1,702

-46.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$3.73 ₡1,675

-49.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.99 ₡446

15.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.68 ₡754

-26.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$5.48 ₡2,462

-22.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$18.92 ₡8,505

-48.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.68 ₡754

-5.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.77 ₡1,245

-0.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$1.05 ₡471

-51.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$2.05 ₡922

132.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.86 ₡834

74.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$8.09 ₡3,636

-33.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.48 ₡664

3.38%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$28.0K ₡12.6M

-24.10%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$36.6K ₡16.4M

-36.40%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$94.5 ₡42.5K

-11.68%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$29.94 ₡13.5K

-22.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$58.6 ₡26.3K

-52.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$105 ₡47.3K

-46.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$9.81 ₡4,411

187.36%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$7.66 ₡3,445

-34.73%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$458 ₡206.0K

-54.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$17.2K ₡7.7M

-69.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$71.8 ₡32.3K

-39.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$54.9 ₡24.7K

-22.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$128 ₡57.3K

-42.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$133 ₡59.6K

-33.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$866 ₡389.1K

14.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$848 ₡381.2K

-54.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,929 ₡867.0K

-13.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,501 ₡674.7K

-28.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,404 ₡630.9K

178.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$969 ₡435.8K

533.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$1,792 ₡805.4K

-53.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.62

32.83%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Escazu: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Escazu

$848 43.9% 122% $466

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Escazu

$363 18.8% 41% $105

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Escazu

$229 11.9% 14.6% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Escazu

$183 9.5% 36.3% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Escazu

$174 9% 56.5% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Escazu

$121 6.2% 81.5% $54

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Escazu

$16 * 0.8% 69.2% $35

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 $995 in Playa del Carmen and $866 in Escazu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $62 in Escazu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $363 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Escazu

🕒 Local time

22:44 10:44 PM

21:44 9:44 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

11,984

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Escazu 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Escazu

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 Escazu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $866 in Escazu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Escazu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,934 in Escazu – Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,934 in Escazu, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Escazu. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Escazu on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.