Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Fort Saskatchewan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,225 in Fort Saskatchewan, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 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
107

Cost of Living Index in Fort Saskatchewan
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Fort Saskatchewan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Fort Saskatchewan

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,225

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Fort Saskatchewan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,225 in Fort Saskatchewan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Fort Saskatchewan $2,225

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,470 in Fort Saskatchewan.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Fort Saskatchewan $3,470

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,715 in Fort Saskatchewan.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Fort Saskatchewan $4,715

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 46% less than in Fort Saskatchewan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Fort Saskatchewan is 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$28.87 CA$40.81

-62.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$66.0 CA$93.2

-32.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.83 CA$15.31

8.59%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.91 CA$5.53

-5.88%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$3.14 CA$4.44

-57.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$2.51 CA$3.54

-67.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$7.83 CA$11.07

-60.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$9.43 CA$13.33

-47.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.62 CA$3.70

-43.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$3.08 CA$4.36

-27.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$3.23 CA$4.57

-54.18%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.60 CA$5.09

-30.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$14.71 CA$20.80

-48.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$13.61 CA$19.24

-41.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$20.59 CA$29.11

-38.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.34 CA$4.72

-16.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.87 CA$2.64

-23.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$3.56 CA$5.03

-26.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.75 CA$5.30

-42.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.49 CA$3.52

-18.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.91 CA$2.70

4.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$2.43 CA$3.44

-53.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.57 CA$2.22

-23.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$15.72 CA$22.22

-72.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$12.83 CA$18.14

-21.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.78 CA$3.93

-44.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.97 CA$4.19

-10.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$2.30 CA$3.26

-76.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$61.2 CA$86.6

-55.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.55 CA$3.60

92.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.49 CA$2.11

130.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$23.14 CA$32.72

-76.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.98 CA$1.38

47.96%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$26.8K CA$37.9K

-21.15%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$20.8K CA$29.4K

10.63%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$148 CA$209

-42.14%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$39.16 CA$55.4

-40.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$54.3 CA$76.8

-47.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$40.14 CA$56.8

54.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$18.23 CA$25.77

57.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$9.43 CA$13.33

-45.92%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$696 CA$984

-71.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$14.7K CA$20.8K

-73.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$63.5 CA$89.7

-30.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$38.86 CA$54.9

6.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$144 CA$204

-49.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$105 CA$148

-14.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,252 CA$1,770

-21.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$891 CA$1,260

-58.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,957 CA$2,766

-14.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,716 CA$2,426

-36.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$4,721 CA$6,674

-16.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$3,421 CA$4,836

79.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$3,158 CA$4,464

-76.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.07

88.63%

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 Fort Saskatchewan: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Fort Saskatchewan

$891 40.1% 139% $518

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Fort Saskatchewan

$405 18.2% 56.6% $146

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Fort Saskatchewan

$391 17.6% 95.3% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Fort Saskatchewan

$241 10.8% 75.6% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Fort Saskatchewan

$158 7.1% 41.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Fort Saskatchewan

$59 2.7% 18.5% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Fort Saskatchewan

$80 3.6% 55.6% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $1,252 in Fort Saskatchewan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fort Saskatchewan pays 328% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $66.0 in Fort Saskatchewan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $405 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Fort Saskatchewan

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

28,624

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Fort Saskatchewan 4,290 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Fort Saskatchewan

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 Fort Saskatchewan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Fort Saskatchewan differ by about 85% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $2,225 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 328% lower in Fort Saskatchewan. 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,252 in Fort Saskatchewan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $696 in Fort Saskatchewan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Fort Saskatchewan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,225 in Fort Saskatchewan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Fort Saskatchewan. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in Fort Saskatchewan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.