Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and General Trias

For one person, living is cheaper in General Trias: $618 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in General Trias
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General Trias Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

General Trias

🇵🇭 Philippines

$618

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in General Trias

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $618 in General Trias, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
General Trias $618

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $990 in General Trias, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
General Trias $990

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,362 in General Trias, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
General Trias $1,362

Playa del Carmen costs about 95% more than General Trias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and General Trias are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, General Trias 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$4.00 ₱255

166.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$16.20 ₱1,030

170.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$2.45 ₱156

381.22%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.83 ₱117

107.10%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.40 ₱25.44

225.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.30 ₱18.85

176.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.01 ₱64.3

211.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.51 ₱96.0

226.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.64 ₱104

-14.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.15 ₱73.0

91.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.91 ₱58.0

61.54%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$2.03 ₱129

23.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$4.79 ₱305

52.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.39 ₱216

134.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.61 ₱484

68.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.19 ₱139

32.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.58 ₱101

-12.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$2.29 ₱146

8.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.01 ₱64.1

100.99%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.66 ₱106

21.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.70 ₱108

11.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.87 ₱55.5

31.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.52 ₱32.91

138.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.94 ₱187

45.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$8.42 ₱535

16.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.96 ₱61.3

65.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.06 ₱131

33.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.24 ₱15.31

112.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$12.30 ₱782

122.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.76 ₱48.08

526.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.20 ₱12.72

1525.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.92 ₱122

180.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.22 ₱77.9

25.41%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$11.6K ₱738.2K

82.70%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$18.7K ₱1.2M

24.10%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$31.73 ₱2,017

163.13%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$17.15 ₱1,091

35.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.95 ₱1,332

31.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$31.30 ₱1,990

80.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$5.25 ₱334

436.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.01 ₱319

-0.20%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$129 ₱8,223

60.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$10.8K ₱689.4K

-51.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$28.39 ₱1,805

53.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$19.41 ₱1,234

119.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$70.9 ₱4,506

2.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$55.8 ₱3,548

58.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$95.0 ₱6,041

947.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$168 ₱10.7K

127.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$484 ₱30.8K

245.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$353 ₱22.4K

206.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,636 ₱167.6K

48.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,111 ₱70.7K

452.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.75

69.63%

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 General Trias: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

General Trias

$168 27.3% 56% $214

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

General Trias

$172 27.9% 33% $85

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

General Trias

$72 11.7% 63.9% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

General Trias

$70 11.3% 48% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

General Trias

$79 12.7% 29.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

General Trias

$41 6.7% 37.8% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

General Trias

$15 2.4% 70.2% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $95 in General Trias. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $16 in General Trias. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $172 – making General Trias the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 General Trias

🕒 Local time

17:30 5:30 PM

06:30 6:30 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

450,583

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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 = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.57 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen General Trias 15,070 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
General Trias

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 General Trias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 95% more than General Trias, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $926 in General Trias. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in General Trias, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $95 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 55% less in General Trias. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $129 in General Trias. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in General Trias, where all-in costs run around $618, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In General Trias it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward General Trias – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, General Trias is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 49% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.