Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gjilan

For one person, living is cheaper in Gjilan: $774 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Gjilan
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Gjilan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gjilan

🇽🇰 Kosovo

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $774 in Gjilan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gjilan $774

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,149 in Gjilan.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Gjilan $1,149

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,524 in Gjilan.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Gjilan $1,524

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 56% more expensive than in Gjilan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Gjilan 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.28 €3.83

155.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$22.18 €19.87

95.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.45 €4.88

116.15%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$1.37 €1.23

178.10%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.07 €0.96

19.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.88 €0.79

-11.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.65 €1.48

92.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.36 €1.21

262.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.30 €1.16

8.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.44 €0.39

404.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.27 €1.14

11.81%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$1.78 €1.59

41.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.03 €7.20

-9.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.77 €6.06

13.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.45 €11.15

1.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.60 €1.44

73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.58 €1.41

-13.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.78 €1.59

43.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$1.67 €1.50

26.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.92 €0.82

110.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.86 €0.77

119.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.77 €0.69

49.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.49 €0.44

140.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$3.37 €3.02

27.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$5.50 €4.93

80.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$0.91 €0.82

73.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.22 €1.09

118.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.55 €0.49

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.21 €1.98

124.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.54 €0.49

516.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$3.38 €3.02

58.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.43 €1.28

0.70%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$22.2K €19.9K

-7.02%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$25.7K €23.0K

-8.60%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$104 €93.4

-18.67%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$11.39 €10.20

105.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$23.40 €20.96

22.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$19.32 €17.31

195.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$4.57 €4.09

12.47%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$169 €151

22.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$1,476 €1,322

166.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$42.23 €37.82

2.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$31.95 €28.61

29.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$63.0 €56.4

17.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$80.1 €71.8

11.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$277 €248

253.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$227 €203

67.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$474 €424

260.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$357 €320

201.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$905 €811

335.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$698 €625

782.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$456 €408

61.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.5

154.44%

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 Gjilan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Gjilan

$227 29.3% 40.4% $154

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Gjilan

$189 24.4% 25.7% $66

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Gjilan

$86 11.1% 57.6% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gjilan

$139 18% 1.6% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gjilan

$98 12.6% 12.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Gjilan

$28 3.7% 57.7% $39

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Gjilan

$7.1 * 0.9% 85.9% $43

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 $980 in Playa del Carmen and $277 in Gjilan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 61% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $22 in Gjilan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $189 per month, with Gjilan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇽🇰 Gjilan

🕒 Local time

19:09 7:09 PM

01:09 1:09 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

54,239

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gjilan 9,890 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gjilan

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 Gjilan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $774 in Gjilan, so Gjilan is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 61% 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 $277 in Gjilan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $774 in Gjilan – Gjilan is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $774 in Gjilan versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Gjilan but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Gjilan 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.

It comes down to priorities – Gjilan wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.