Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gizo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,169 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,169

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,169 in Gizo.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gizo $2,169

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,078 in Gizo.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Gizo $3,078

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,987 in Gizo.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Gizo $3,987

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 44% less than in Gizo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Gizo is 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.16 SBD 25.48

245.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$55.9 SBD 451

-22.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$15.52 SBD 125

-24.10%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.75 SBD 22.12

38.55%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.27 SBD 10.26

0.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.22 SBD 9.81

-36.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.43 SBD 19.58

30.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.46 SBD 19.83

100.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$3.21 SBD 25.83

-56.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.40 SBD 11.25

58.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.45 SBD 11.68

-2.07%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$7.03 SBD 56.6

-64.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.92 SBD 71.9

-18.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.27 SBD 50.5

22.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$8.54 SBD 68.8

48.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$6.68 SBD 53.8

-58.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$6.09 SBD 49.07

-77.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$6.08 SBD 48.95

-58.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$3.14 SBD 25.29

-32.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.06 SBD 24.64

-36.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.43 SBD 19.59

-22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$2.53 SBD 20.38

-54.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.38 SBD 11.08

-14.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$4.24 SBD 34.14

1.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$12.30 SBD 99.1

-19.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.83 SBD 14.77

-13.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.25 SBD 18.10

18.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.39 SBD 3.11

41.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$30.48 SBD 246

-12.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.26 SBD 10.15

294.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.55 SBD 20.52

30.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$12.61 SBD 102

-57.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.76 SBD 14.19

-18.18%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$20.8K SBD 167.7K

-0.75%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$21.8K SBD 175.5K

7.73%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$749 SBD 6,033

-88.68%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$13.86 SBD 112

68.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$125 SBD 1,011

-77.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$18.34 SBD 148

211.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$6.30 SBD 50.7

358.89%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$4.36 SBD 35.10

17.89%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$125 SBD 1,010

64.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$1,246 SBD 10.0K

215.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$25.56 SBD 206

69.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$94.2 SBD 759

-55.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$101 SBD 814

-26.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$87.8 SBD 707

1.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$593 SBD 4,776

65.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$584 SBD 4,708

-34.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$623 SBD 5,015

174.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,261 SBD 10.2K

-14.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$85.7K SBD 690.0K

-95.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$401 SBD 3,234

82.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

16.33

-29.88%

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 Gizo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Gizo

$584 26.9% 53.5% $204

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Gizo

$353 16.3% 38.4% $98

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Gizo

$132 6.1% 34.8% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gizo

$888 41% 549% $751

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gizo

$139 6.4% 24.3% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Gizo

$27 1.3% 59.8% $40

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Gizo

$46 2.1% 8.8% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $593 in Gizo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 83% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $56 in Gizo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $353 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇧 Gizo

🕒 Local time

04:04 4:04 AM

20:04 8:04 PM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,177

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.111 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 8.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 8.99 SBD (1 SBD = 0.111 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gizo 13,040 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gizo

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 Gizo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 83% 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $593 in Gizo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $56 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,169 in Gizo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.