Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Giurgiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Giurgiu: $1,090 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Giurgiu
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Giurgiu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Giurgiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,090

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,090 in Giurgiu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Giurgiu $1,090

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,650 in Giurgiu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Giurgiu $1,650

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,211 in Giurgiu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Giurgiu $2,211

Playa del Carmen costs about 11% more than Giurgiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Playa del Carmen and Giurgiu are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Giurgiu 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.90 RON 52.3

0.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$51.7 RON 248

-16.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.13 RON 34.19

65.22%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.64 RON 17.48

4.67%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.38 RON 11.42

-46.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$2.16 RON 10.34

-63.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.05 RON 14.64

3.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.31 RON 15.90

48.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.54 RON 7.40

-8.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.37 RON 6.56

62.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.77 RON 8.48

-19.77%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.46 RON 16.60

-27.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.74 RON 41.93

-16.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.99 RON 33.53

10.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$12.63 RON 60.6

0.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.47 RON 7.07

89.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.55 RON 7.44

-11.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.64 RON 7.89

55.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.62 RON 12.57

-19.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.75 RON 3.61

158.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.88 RON 4.22

114.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.86 RON 4.12

33.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.76 RON 3.62

55.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$5.96 RON 28.58

-27.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.29 RON 34.94

36.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.23 RON 5.88

28.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.81 RON 8.67

47.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.72 RON 3.44

-23.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$21.71 RON 104

22.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.67 RON 3.21

641.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.66 RON 3.17

404.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.59 RON 31.61

-18.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.85 RON 8.88

-22.16%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$28.0K RON 134.3K

-26.19%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$24.9K RON 119.3K

-5.67%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$181 RON 868

-53.17%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.98 RON 38.27

193.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$9.25 RON 44.35

209.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$40.24 RON 193

41.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$21.63 RON 104

33.66%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$9.37 RON 44.96

-45.14%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$442 RON 2,118

-53.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,801 RON 32.6K

-42.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$51.3 RON 246

-15.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$35.48 RON 170

16.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$74.6 RON 358

-0.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$88.3 RON 424

1.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$365 RON 1,749

168.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$273 RON 1,309

39.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$553 RON 2,652

208.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$383 RON 1,838

180.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,958 RON 9,389

101.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,372 RON 6,581

348.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$911 RON 4,367

-19.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.2

59.03%

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 Giurgiu: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Giurgiu

$273 25.1% 28.3% $108

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Giurgiu

$226 20.8% 11.2% $28

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Giurgiu

$192 17.7% 5% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Giurgiu

$198 18.2% 44.9% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Giurgiu

$112 10.3% 0.6% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Giurgiu

$59 5.4% 12.4% $8.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Giurgiu

$29 2.6% 43.4% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $365 in Giurgiu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 24% higher in Giurgiu, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $52 in Giurgiu. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $226 in Giurgiu – so Giurgiu wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Giurgiu

🕒 Local time

20:23 8:23 PM

03:23 3:23 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

61,353

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.8 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Giurgiu 10,130 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Giurgiu

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 Giurgiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 11%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,635 in Giurgiu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Giurgiu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $365 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Giurgiu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $442 in Giurgiu. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,090 in Giurgiu, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,090 in Giurgiu to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.