Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Grand Bay

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Grand Bay: $1,210 and $1,176 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Grand Bay
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Grand Bay Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Grand Bay

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$1,176

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Grand Bay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,176 in Grand Bay.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Grand Bay $1,176

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,240 in Grand Bay.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Grand Bay $2,240

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,304 in Grand Bay.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Grand Bay $3,304

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 3% more expensive than in Grand Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Grand Bay 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$5.67 MUR 267

89.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$62.7 MUR 2,951

-31.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.00 MUR 330

68.43%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.60 MUR 122

48.85%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.18 MUR 55.7

16.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.63 MUR 29.89

33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.67 MUR 126

16.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.74 MUR 223

6.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.40 MUR 65.7

2.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.71 MUR 33.65

214.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.10 MUR 51.6

33.64%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.42 MUR 114

4.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$20.36 MUR 959

-64.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$6.27 MUR 295

25.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$21.35 MUR 1,005

-40.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.88 MUR 88.3

54.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.03 MUR 95.7

-29.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.44 MUR 67.7

77.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.92 MUR 137

-29.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.95 MUR 44.73

110.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.99 MUR 46.62

103.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.70 MUR 32.89

70.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.56 MUR 26.59

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.58 MUR 310

-33.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$8.28 MUR 390

15.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.69 MUR 79.4

-5.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.04 MUR 95.8

37.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.03 MUR 48.61

-44.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.31 MUR 203

15.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.44 MUR 115

43.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$20.86 MUR 982

-74.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.41 MUR 66.3

4.26%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$34.4K MUR 1.6M

-38.96%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$36.3K MUR 1.7M

-34.08%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$45.51 MUR 2,143

85.04%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$15.73 MUR 741

52.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$29.36 MUR 1,383

-1.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$57.6 MUR 2,713

9.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.47 MUR 305

-23.65%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$125 MUR 5,881

63.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$7,478 MUR 352.1K

-47.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$60.7 MUR 2,857

-28.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$62.8 MUR 2,954

-31.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$107 MUR 5,038

-29.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$86.8 MUR 4,084

2.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$595 MUR 28.0K

69.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$447 MUR 21.0K

-16.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$2,067 MUR 97.3K

-17.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,476 MUR 69.5K

-25.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,289 MUR 60.7K

-41.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

90.83%

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 Grand Bay: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Grand Bay

$447 38% 19.5% $73

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Grand Bay

$277 23.6% 7.2% $19

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Grand Bay

$128 10.9% 36.9% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Grand Bay

$91 7.7% 34% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Grand Bay

$143 12.1% 26.3% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Grand Bay

$71 6% 3.2% $2.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Grand Bay

$21 * 1.8% 60.8% $32

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 $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $595 in Grand Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grand Bay pays 71% 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 $63.0 in Grand Bay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $277 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇺 Grand Bay

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

20:12 8:12 PM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

11,900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, 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).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Grand Bay 16,340 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Grand Bay

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 Grand Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grand Bay is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and utilities. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Grand Bay. 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 $595 in Grand Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $125 in Grand Bay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Grand Bay – a meal for two runs $63.0 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,176 in Grand Bay versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Grand Bay but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Grand Bay the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Grand Bay is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Grand Bay are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Grand Bay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.