Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gostivar

For one person, living is cheaper in Gostivar: $835 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Gostivar
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Gostivar Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Gostivar

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $835 in Gostivar.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Gostivar $835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,262 in Gostivar.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Gostivar $1,262

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,689 in Gostivar.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Gostivar $1,689

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 45% more expensive than in Gostivar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Gostivar 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$6.25 MKD 341

72.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$26.92 MKD 1,468

59.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.81 MKD 317

102.93%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.39 MKD 75.9

178.42%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.32 MKD 72.2

3.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.07 MKD 58.1

-21.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.31 MKD 71.5

136.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$1.77 MKD 96.3

186.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.29 MKD 70.2

11.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.75 MKD 40.84

197.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.42 MKD 77.3

3.52%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.46 MKD 134

2.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$6.49 MKD 354

12.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.59 MKD 305

40.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.35 MKD 783

-10.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.43 MKD 78.1

102.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.39 MKD 75.8

3.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.35 MKD 73.8

88.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.78 MKD 97.1

15.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.83 MKD 45.18

140.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.70 MKD 38.06

187.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.64 MKD 34.74

85.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.57 MKD 30.92

121.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.76 MKD 150

59.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$4.63 MKD 253

107.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.88 MKD 47.86

80.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.41 MKD 77.1

99.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.74 MKD 40.29

-22.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$21.14 MKD 1,153

31.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.75 MKD 40.97

564.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.34 MKD 18.33

929.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$7.75 MKD 423

-30.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.44 MKD 78.4

2.08%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$31.9K MKD 1.7M

-34.12%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$27.1K MKD 1.5M

-11.76%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$129 MKD 7,046

-34.80%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$10.75 MKD 586

123.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$18.87 MKD 1,029

53.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$21.76 MKD 1,187

189.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$18.73 MKD 1,022

55.58%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.10 MKD 387

-30.42%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$362 MKD 19.7K

-43.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,736 MKD 312.9K

-31.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$36.91 MKD 2,014

18.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$36.52 MKD 1,992

18.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$102 MKD 5,589

-26.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$115 MKD 6,252

-22.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$275 MKD 15.0K

267.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$194 MKD 10.6K

93.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$504 MKD 27.5K

239.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$298 MKD 16.3K

270.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,525 MKD 83.2K

158.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,133 MKD 61.8K

444.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$863 MKD 47.1K

-12.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.23

170.69%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Gostivar: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Gostivar

$194 23.2% 48.2% $180

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Gostivar

$186 22.3% 28.1% $73

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Gostivar

$104 12.4% 48.7% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Gostivar

$159 19% 15.7% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Gostivar

$131 15.7% 15.7% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Gostivar

$36 4.3% 50.7% $37

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Gostivar

$27 3.2% 49.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $275 in Gostivar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gostivar pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $27.00 in Gostivar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $186 per month, with Gostivar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇰 Gostivar

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

08:10 8:10 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

36,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gostivar 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gostivar

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 Gostivar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gostivar wins on cost – living expenses run 45% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Gostivar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Gostivar. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $275 in Gostivar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $835 in Gostivar – a 45% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Gostivar runs roughly 32% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $835 in Gostivar versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Gostivar but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Gostivar the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Gostivar delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $835 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Gostivar hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Gostivar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.