Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gili Trawangan

For one person, living is cheaper in Gili Trawangan: $948 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Gili Trawangan
Learn more

Gili Trawangan Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gili Trawangan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$948

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Gili Trawangan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $948 in Gili Trawangan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gili Trawangan $948

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,580 in Gili Trawangan.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Gili Trawangan $1,580

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,213 in Gili Trawangan.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Gili Trawangan $2,213

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 27% more expensive than in Gili Trawangan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Gili Trawangan 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$2.24 Rp 40.3K

384.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$23.76 Rp 427.7K

86.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$3.74 Rp 67.4K

214.44%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

101.09%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.09 Rp 19.7K

22.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.55 Rp 9,840

49.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

73.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.99 Rp 53.8K

65.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.16 Rp 20.8K

26.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.75 Rp 31.6K

26.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.94 Rp 17.0K

57.45%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

51.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.01 Rp 234.2K

-42.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

166.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$9.03 Rp 162.6K

39.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

2.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.16 Rp 20.8K

23.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.77 Rp 31.9K

48.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.45 Rp 26.2K

47.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.37 Rp 24.7K

47.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

13.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.74 Rp 13.4K

54.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.41 Rp 7,341

192.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$1.73 Rp 31.1K

146.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$17.33 Rp 311.9K

-42.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.75 Rp 31.6K

-12.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.22 Rp 40.0K

19.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.21 Rp 3,778

152.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$7.14 Rp 128.5K

285.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.40 Rp 7,268

1125.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.37 Rp 6,649

827.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$5.09 Rp 91.6K

5.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.68 Rp 12.3K

113.24%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$20.6K Rp 370.8M

2.70%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$28.0K Rp 503.7M

-17.74%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$69.7 Rp 1.3M

22.50%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$5.49 Rp 98.9K

327.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$15.46 Rp 278.3K

83.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$39.13 Rp 704.3K

58.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$12.90 Rp 232.3K

122.33%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$3.09 Rp 55.6K

65.05%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$347 Rp 6.3M

-42.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$4,182 Rp 75.3M

-5.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$38.51 Rp 693.1K

15.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$30.37 Rp 546.7K

36.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$66.6 Rp 1.2M

9.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$67.8 Rp 1.2M

32.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$677 Rp 12.2M

44.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$419 Rp 7.5M

-11.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$2,150 Rp 38.7M

-21.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,042 Rp 18.8M

5.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,665 Rp 30.0M

137.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,371 Rp 24.7M

347.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

13.78

-16.91%

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 Gili Trawangan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Gili Trawangan

$419 44.2% 12.4% $46

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Gili Trawangan

$219 23.1% 15.4% $40

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Gili Trawangan

$72 7.6% 63.8% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gili Trawangan

$91 9.6% 34% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gili Trawangan

$92 9.7% 18% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Gili Trawangan

$45 4.8% 37.4% $27

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Gili Trawangan

$10 1.1% 80.2% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $677 in Gili Trawangan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $24.00 in Gili Trawangan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $219 per month, with Gili Trawangan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇩 Gili Trawangan

🕒 Local time

22:50 10:50 PM

11:50 11:50 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gili Trawangan 17,180 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gili Trawangan

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 Gili Trawangan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gili Trawangan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,422 in Gili Trawangan 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $677 in Gili Trawangan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gili Trawangan – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $948 in Gili Trawangan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gili Trawangan but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Gili Trawangan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Gili Trawangan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Gili Trawangan are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Gili Trawangan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.