Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Fox Glacier

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,965 in Fox Glacier, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Fox Glacier
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Fox Glacier Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Fox Glacier

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Fox Glacier

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,965 in Fox Glacier.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Fox Glacier $1,965

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,013 in Fox Glacier.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Fox Glacier $3,013

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,061 in Fox Glacier.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Fox Glacier $4,061

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 39% less than in Fox Glacier, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Fox Glacier is 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$14.92 NZ$26.49

-26.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$62.1 NZ$110

-30.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.20 NZ$14.56

43.66%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.55 NZ$6.30

7.32%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.78 NZ$3.17

-28.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$1.65 NZ$2.93

-52.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$6.68 NZ$11.86

-52.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.97 NZ$12.37

-29.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$2.01 NZ$3.57

-29.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.79 NZ$3.18

24.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.73 NZ$3.07

-17.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$5.99 NZ$10.63

-57.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$9.41 NZ$16.71

-22.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$8.72 NZ$15.47

-11.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$15.28 NZ$27.13

-16.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.02 NZ$5.36

-7.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.17 NZ$3.86

-36.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$2.65 NZ$4.71

-3.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$4.95 NZ$8.79

-57.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.22 NZ$3.95

-12.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.49 NZ$2.65

26.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$2.30 NZ$4.08

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.17 NZ$2.08

0.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$24.30 NZ$43.15

-82.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.18 NZ$14.51

21.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$2.86 NZ$5.08

-44.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.89 NZ$5.13

-7.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$1.90 NZ$3.38

-71.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$95.2 NZ$169

-72.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.08 NZ$3.70

138.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$2.02 NZ$3.58

64.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$27.35 NZ$48.56

-80.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.96 NZ$3.48

-26.53%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$27.8K NZ$49.4K

-25.80%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$25.5K NZ$45.2K

-7.80%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$96.7 NZ$172

-12.32%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$29.56 NZ$52.5

-20.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$52.5 NZ$93.3

-45.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$37.47 NZ$66.5

52.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$9.87 NZ$17.53

-47.92%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$704 NZ$1,250

-70.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

-77.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$71.3 NZ$127

-39.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$33.01 NZ$58.6

25.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$99.8 NZ$177

-25.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$100 NZ$178

-10.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,078 NZ$1,913

-9.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$911 NZ$1,617

-58.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,580 NZ$2,806

8.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,645 NZ$2,921

-34.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$4,875 NZ$8,655

-19.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$3,516 NZ$6,242

75.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.83

96.40%

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 Fox Glacier: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Fox Glacier

$911 46.3% 139% $530

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Fox Glacier

$319 16.3% 25.4% $65

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Fox Glacier

$248 12.6% 22.4% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Fox Glacier

$179 9.1% 30.6% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Fox Glacier

$137 7% 22.5% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Fox Glacier

$57 2.9% 15% $10

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Fox Glacier

$115 5.9% 128% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,078 in Fox Glacier. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $62 in Fox Glacier for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $319 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Fox Glacier

🕒 Local time

16:17 4:17 PM

10:17 10:17 AM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

300

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Fox Glacier 12,580 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Fox Glacier

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 Fox Glacier: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,965 in Fox Glacier, so Playa del Carmen is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,948 in Fox Glacier 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,078 in Fox Glacier. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 72% less than in Fox Glacier. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $704 in Fox Glacier. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,965 in Fox Glacier, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Fox Glacier. 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 39% less than in Fox Glacier. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.