Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,610 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
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Gran Canaria, Canary Islands Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

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 Gran Canaria, Canary Islands actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,610 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands $1,610

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,368 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands $2,368

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,126 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands $3,126

Playa del Carmen is about 25% cheaper than Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Gran Canaria, Canary Islands is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$14.81 €13.18

-26.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$57.1 €50.8

-22.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.31 €9.17

14.06%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.17 €1.93

69.59%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.39 €2.12

-43.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.70 €1.51

-51.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.40 €3.03

-10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.41 €3.04

44.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.19 €1.06

23.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.36 €1.21

63.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.67 €1.48

-11.38%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.89 €2.57

-13.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.52 €12.03

-44.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.22 €7.31

-3.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$15.10 €13.43

-16.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.51 €2.23

10.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.96 €1.74

-27.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.97 €1.75

32.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.59 €2.30

-17.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.73 €1.54

16.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.02 €1.80

-1.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.33 €1.18

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.70 €0.62

71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.46 €5.75

-34.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$5.73 €5.10

74.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.20 €1.07

28.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.05 €1.83

29.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.69 €1.50

-68.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$33.64 €29.92

-18.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$4.09 €3.64

19.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.26 €1.12

172.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$25.03 €22.26

-78.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.76 €1.57

-17.61%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$38.3K €34.1K

-44.74%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$30.3K €27.0K

-24.10%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$135 €120

-36.56%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$20.74 €18.45

13.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$30.89 €27.48

-7.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$47.30 €42.08

31.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$15.03 €13.37

90.82%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$9.02 €8.03

-43.46%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$413 €367

-51.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$8,267 €7,353

-52.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$84.1 €74.8

-47.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$34.68 €30.84

19.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$87.4 €77.8

-16.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$107 €95.5

-16.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$853 €758

14.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$690 €614

-46.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,305 €1,161

28.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,016 €903

7.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,320 €2,953

18.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$2,366 €2,105

159.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.5

227.14%

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 Gran Canaria, Canary Islands: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$690 42.9% 85.2% $317

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$260 16.2% 0.7% $1.9

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$216 13.4% 7.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$186 11.6% 35.7% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$141 8.8% 26.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$65 4.1% 9.7% $7.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

$51 3.2% 1.8% $0.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $853 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $57.0 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $260 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

🕒 Local time

15:58 3:58 PM

21:58 9:58 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

862,893

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gran Canaria, Canary Islands 7,200 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

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 Gran Canaria, Canary Islands: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Gran Canaria, Canary Islands is pricier by about 34%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,414 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $413 in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 1% more in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands at $1,610. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.