Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $453 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $453 in Gampaha.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gampaha $453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $768 in Gampaha.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Gampaha $768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,083 in Gampaha.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Gampaha $1,083

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 166% more expensive than in Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Gampaha 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$1.84 LKR 609

490.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$18.22 LKR 6,034

142.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.20 LKR 1,721

126.15%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.24 LKR 410

196.77%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.53 LKR 176

152.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.25 LKR 82.1

228.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.12 LKR 701

44.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.05 LKR 1,010

61.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.63 LKR 539

-9.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.41 LKR 135

441.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.73 LKR 241

102.74%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.65 LKR 548

50.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.91 LKR 4,607

-45.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.03 LKR 1,334

97.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$7.43 LKR 2,460

69.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$5.95 LKR 1,972

-53.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$0.82 LKR 270

74.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.51 LKR 1,493

-41.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.32 LKR 436

62.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.95 LKR 314

112.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.84 LKR 277

136.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.29 LKR 94.8

293.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.34 LKR 114

252.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$9.88 LKR 3,273

-56.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$13.04 LKR 4,319

-23.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.35 LKR 447

14.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.44 LKR 808

9.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.29 LKR 95.2

82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.29 LKR 95.0

1589.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.36 LKR 120

852.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$0.89 LKR 295

504.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.17 LKR 388

23.93%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$30.6K LKR 10.1M

-30.75%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$39.9K LKR 13.2M

-42.32%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$27.15 LKR 8,994

214.40%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$2.99 LKR 991

684.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$10.85 LKR 3,592

162.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$7.73 LKR 2,561

704.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$4.55 LKR 1,508

12.09%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$14.93 LKR 4,944

1246.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$121 LKR 40.1K

3162.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$18.28 LKR 6,054

142.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$9.02 LKR 2,987

358.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$59.9 LKR 19.8K

21.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$23.95 LKR 7,933

274.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$90.2 LKR 29.9K

985.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$56.4 LKR 18.7K

560.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$302 LKR 100.2K

455.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$163 LKR 54.0K

571.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$231 LKR 76.4K

219.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.50%

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 Gampaha: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Gampaha

$56 12.5% 84.9% $316

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Gampaha

$221 48.7% 14.6% $38

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Gampaha

$65 14.3% 67.6% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gampaha

$41 9% 70.1% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gampaha

$50 11% 55.2% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Gampaha

$17 3.7% 76.7% $56

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Gampaha

$3.2 * 0.7% 93.7% $48

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 $90.2 in Gampaha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 220% 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 $18.00 in Gampaha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $221 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

21:42 9:42 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

20,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gampaha 16,620 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gampaha

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 Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Gampaha differ by about 166% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $453 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 220% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $90.2 in Gampaha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $14.93 in Gampaha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $453 in Gampaha versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha 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 Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 166% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.