Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Foca

For one person, living is cheaper in Foca: $949 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Foca
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Foca Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Foca

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $949 in Foca.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Foca $949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,367 in Foca.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Foca $1,367

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,786 in Foca.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Foca $1,786

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 27% more expensive than in Foca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Foca 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$5.31 BAM 9.27

104.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$826

$22.24 BAM 38.82

98.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$220

$4.61 BAM 8.05

155.10%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.8

$1.49 BAM 2.60

146.98%

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

$1.34 MX$25.06

$1.35 BAM 2.36

-0.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.41

$0.84 BAM 1.46

-2.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.2

$1.69 BAM 2.95

81.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.2

$2.31 BAM 4.04

113.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.46

$1.18 BAM 2.06

24.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.39

$1.12 BAM 1.96

98.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.59 BAM 2.77

-6.92%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.50

$2.01 BAM 3.50

23.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$6.93 BAM 12.11

8.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$149

$6.41 BAM 11.19

24.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$10.18 BAM 17.77

23.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$0.83 BAM 1.45

234.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.66

$1.75 BAM 3.06

-18.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.90

$2.14 BAM 3.74

22.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.92

$1.68 BAM 2.94

27.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.79

$0.99 BAM 1.72

104.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.14

$1.36 BAM 2.38

46.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.24

$1.13 BAM 1.98

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.42

$0.91 BAM 1.59

31.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.6

$3.39 BAM 5.92

25.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$8.39 BAM 14.65

19.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.72

$0.84 BAM 1.46

83.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.71

$1.16 BAM 2.03

129.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.84

$1.27 BAM 2.21

-58.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.6

$1.75 BAM 3.06

180.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.2

$0.59 BAM 1.04

481.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$100

$17.31 BAM 30.22

-68.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.05

$1.52 BAM 2.66

-4.61%

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

$21.2K MX$395.3K

$30.6K BAM 53.5K

-30.90%

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

$23.0K MX$430.0K

$21.8K BAM 38.1K

5.52%

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

$85.4 MX$1,595

$156 BAM 273

-45.45%

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

$23.46 MX$438

$16.28 BAM 28.43

44.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$531

$33.80 BAM 59.0

-15.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,162

$33.52 BAM 58.5

85.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$536

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.4

$5.83 BAM 10.17

-12.52%

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

$201 MX$3,756

$286 BAM 500

-29.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.7K

$3,587 BAM 6,262

10.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$829

$83.2 BAM 145

-46.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$773

$35.42 BAM 61.9

16.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,359

$68.2 BAM 119

6.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,674

$140 BAM 244

-35.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$154 BAM 269

535.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,963

$248 BAM 433

50.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.4K

$516 BAM 901

225.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.5K

$366 BAM 640

198.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.8K

$2,407 BAM 4,202

64.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.6K

$1,763 BAM 3,078

248.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.44

157.88%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Foca: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Foca

$248 26.1% 33.5% $125

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Foca

$197 20.7% 23.8% $62

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Foca

$96 10.1% 52% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Foca

$207 21.8% 50.5% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Foca

$147 15.5% 31.6% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Foca

$45 4.8% 37.6% $27

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Foca

$9.8 * 1% 81.1% $42

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 $979 in Playa del Carmen and $154 in Foca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $22 in Foca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $197 per month, with Foca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇦 Foca

🕒 Local time

10:31 10:31 AM

16:31 4:31 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

12,334

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.68 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Foca 9,640 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Foca

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 Foca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foca is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,424 in Foca 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $154 in Foca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $286 in Foca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Foca – a meal for two runs $22 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.