Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Galle

For one person, living is cheaper in Galle: $510 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Galle
Learn more

Galle Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Galle

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$510

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $510 in Galle.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Galle $510

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $829 in Galle.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Galle $829

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,148 in Galle.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Galle $1,148

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 136% more expensive than in Galle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Galle 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.71 LKR 1,233

187.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$25.23 LKR 8,393

73.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.43 LKR 2,472

58.68%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.55 LKR 847

48.63%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.73 LKR 242

78.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.25 LKR 83.2

232.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.17 LKR 720

45.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.98 LKR 992

65.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.64 LKR 546

-14.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.57 LKR 191

285.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.81 LKR 268

81.48%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$1.64 LKR 547

52.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$15.40 LKR 5,122

-52.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.11 LKR 1,701

55.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.40 LKR 2,462

73.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$6.43 LKR 2,140

-54.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.82 LKR 272

68.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$4.22 LKR 1,404

-41.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.32 LKR 438

53.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.05 LKR 348

92.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.81 LKR 271

134.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.25 LKR 416

-8.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.45 LKR 151

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$10.31 LKR 3,428

-58.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.53 LKR 4,500

-27.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.95 LKR 648

-18.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.85 LKR 948

-3.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.16 LKR 52.5

218.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.29 LKR 95.8

1541.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.31 LKR 104

948.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$0.87 LKR 290

519.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.33 LKR 441

15.04%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

-50.46%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$45.8K LKR 15.2M

-49.16%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

48.69%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$4.09 LKR 1,360

466.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$21.08 LKR 7,011

30.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$4.64 LKR 1,545

7.76%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$39.64 LKR 13.2K

422.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$17.3K LKR 5.8M

-69.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$18.17 LKR 6,042

139.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$17.46 LKR 5,809

143.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$77.7 LKR 25.8K

-6.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$42.00 LKR 14.0K

110.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$316 LKR 105.1K

163.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.5

-8.40%

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 Galle: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Galle

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Galle

$244 47.8% 5.1% $13

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Galle

$103 20.2% 48.5% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Galle

$81 15.9% 39.4% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Galle

$70 13.7% 37.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Galle

$9.3 * 1.8% 86% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Galle

$2.5 * 0.5% 95.1% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $25 in Galle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $244 per month, with Galle cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Galle

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

20:48 8:48 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

100,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Galle 16,740 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Galle

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 Galle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Galle is about 58% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $40 in Galle. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Galle – a meal for two runs $25 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $510 in Galle versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Galle but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Galle 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 – Galle wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.