Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Granada

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,656 in Granada, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Granada outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Granada
Learn more

Granada Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Granada

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,656 in Granada, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Granada $1,656

A couple spends around $2,144 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,314 in Granada, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Granada $2,314

A family of three spends $3,072 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,973 in Granada, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Granada $2,973

Playa del Carmen is about 27% cheaper than Granada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 9% below the global median, while Granada is 24% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$15.83 €14.13

-30.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$38.88 €34.70

15.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$9.22 €8.22

29.28%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$2.31 €2.07

64.50%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$2.98 €2.66

-56.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$2.25 €2.01

-61.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$3.43 €3.06

-6.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$4.51 €4.03

11.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$1.26 €1.12

15.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$1.44 €1.29

61.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$1.67 €1.49

-13.77%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$3.25 €2.90

-24.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$17.24 €15.38

-55.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$7.40 €6.61

6.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$14.94 €13.33

-14.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$2.54 €2.26

14.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$2.14 €1.91

-33.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$1.91 €1.71

34.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$2.39 €2.13

-10.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$1.95 €1.74

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$2.15 €1.91

-9.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.07 €0.95

7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$0.73 €0.65

67.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$6.55 €5.84

-33.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$4.90 €4.37

101.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.09 €0.97

41.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$1.63 €1.45

66.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$1.78 €1.59

-70.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$39.72 €35.44

-30.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$5.47 €4.88

-10.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$2.23 €1.99

57.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$28.29 €25.25

-79.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.70 €1.52

-9.41%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$35.2K €31.4K

-39.60%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$29.3K €26.2K

-16.53%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$162 €145

-48.49%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$12.97 €11.57

85.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$26.81 €23.93

9.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$44.90 €40.07

44.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$19.92 €17.78

47.89%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$8.97 €8.00

-43.26%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$347 €310

-40.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$7,876 €7,029

-48.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$63.5 €56.7

-29.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$33.05 €29.50

27.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$76.0 €67.8

-0.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$89.4 €79.7

2.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$882 €788

11.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$718 €641

-46.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$1,257 €1,122

36.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$955 €853

16.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$3,351 €2,990

19.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$2,239 €1,998

179.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$1,870 €1,669

-59.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.32

244.88%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Granada: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Granada

$718 43.3% 86.5% $333

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Granada

$267 16.1% 2.6% $6.7

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Granada

$229 13.8% 12.4% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Granada

$202 12.2% 47.5% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Granada

$118 7.1% 3.3% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Granada

$63 3.8% 16.3% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Granada

$63 3.8% 21.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $882 in Granada. 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 147% higher in Granada, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $39.00 in Granada. Groceries tell a different story – $260 in Playa del Carmen vs $267 in Granada – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Granada

🕒 Local time

02:35 2:35 AM

09:35 9:35 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

230,595

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Granada 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Granada

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 Granada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Granada costs about 36% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,823 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,484 in Granada. 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.

Groceries cost about 3% more in Granada, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen and $39.00 in Granada. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,215, than in Granada at $1,656. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Granada it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,215 versus $1,656 in Granada. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Granada makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.