Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Fourways

For one person, living is cheaper in Fourways: $1,049 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Fourways
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Fourways Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Fourways

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,049

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,049 in Fourways, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Fourways $1,049

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,600 in Fourways, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Fourways $1,600

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,152 in Fourways, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Fourways $2,152

Playa del Carmen costs about 15% more than Fourways, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Fourways are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Fourways 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$8.81 R 145

22.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$37.13 R 612

15.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.49 R 90.5

114.75%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.30 R 37.90

68.26%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.10 R 18.13

24.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.82 R 13.50

2.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.44 R 40.17

27.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.70 R 44.42

87.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.16 R 19.15

24.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.14 R 18.82

95.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.72 R 28.35

-14.53%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.52 R 41.50

0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.74 R 128

-5.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$4.53 R 74.6

73.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$7.46 R 123

71.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.44 R 23.73

101.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.59 R 26.27

-9.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.79 R 29.55

42.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.56 R 25.75

32.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.08 R 17.79

85.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.22 R 20.15

64.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.23 R 20.31

-3.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.04 R 17.12

21.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.26 R 53.7

34.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.17 R 85.1

85.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.51 R 24.80

5.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.99 R 32.72

41.21%

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

$0.31 R 5.14

1506.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.78 R 12.84

348.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$14.47 R 238

-62.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.56 R 25.76

-5.77%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$28.7K R 473.3K

-26.95%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$27.6K R 454.2K

-13.28%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$88.4 R 1,456

-4.74%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$36.56 R 602

-34.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$37.70 R 621

-23.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$32.69 R 539

92.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$16.67 R 275

74.81%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.22 R 119

-31.58%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$257 R 4,239

-20.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$7,930 R 130.7K

-50.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$52.8 R 870

-17.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$31.74 R 523

35.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$78.6 R 1,295

-3.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$84.8 R 1,398

4.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$390 R 6,432

158.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$399 R 6,569

-6.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$750 R 12.4K

127.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$691 R 11.4K

60.09%

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

$1,603 R 26.4K

-52.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.34

0.97%

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 Fourways: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Fourways

$399 38% 6.6% $25

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Fourways

$185 17.6% 28.5% $74

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Fourways

$140 13.3% 30.9% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Fourways

$163 15.5% 18.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Fourways

$112 10.6% 1.2% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Fourways

$47 4.5% 35.3% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Fourways

$4.2 * 0.4% 92% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $390 in Fourways. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 112% higher in Fourways, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $37.00 in Fourways. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $185 – making Fourways the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Fourways

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Fourways 13,420 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Fourways

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 Fourways: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 15% more than Fourways, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,574 in Fourways. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Fourways, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $37.00 in Fourways. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 40% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Fourways, where all-in costs run around $1,049, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Fourways it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Fourways costs $1,049 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Fourways. 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.