Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Grecia

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,506 in Grecia, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Grecia
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Grecia Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Grecia

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,506

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,506 in Grecia.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Grecia $1,506

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,101 in Grecia.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Grecia $2,101

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,696 in Grecia.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Grecia $2,696

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 20% less than in Grecia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Grecia is 11% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.27 ₡4,635

6.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$53.5 ₡24.2K

-19.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$11.68 ₡5,273

0.86%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.22 ₡1,451

18.32%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.80 ₡814

-28.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.86 ₡842

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.62 ₡1,183

20.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.90 ₡1,310

70.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.03 ₡918

-30.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.13 ₡509

96.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.49 ₡1,122

-42.97%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.55 ₡1,602

-29.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.50 ₡3,384

-3.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.51 ₡2,939

18.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$14.26 ₡6,437

-11.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.48 ₡1,122

12.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.59 ₡718

-13.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.35 ₡611

88.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.72 ₡775

23.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.78 ₡803

8.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.57 ₡708

20.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.96 ₡432

19.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$2.22 ₡1,002

-46.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$6.03 ₡2,724

-28.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.47 ₡5,631

-20.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$2.12 ₡956

-25.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.56 ₡703

71.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.84 ₡830

-70.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.02 ₡913

146.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.57 ₡707

112.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.48 ₡3,828

-36.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.59 ₡716

-9.43%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$34.4K ₡15.5M

-39.86%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$41.3K ₡18.6M

-43.14%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$86.2 ₡38.9K

-1.66%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$26.86 ₡12.1K

-12.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$59.1 ₡26.7K

-51.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$50.2 ₡22.7K

13.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$11.97 ₡5,402

141.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.56 ₡3,415

-32.01%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$985 ₡444.6K

-79.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$17.5K ₡7.9M

-77.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$70.3 ₡31.7K

-38.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$55.2 ₡24.9K

-24.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$128 ₡57.7K

-41.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$134 ₡60.6K

-33.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$442 ₡199.3K

121.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$621 ₡280.3K

-38.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$772 ₡348.5K

121.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$678 ₡306.2K

58.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$660 ₡297.8K

11.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.62

32.83%

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 Grecia: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Grecia

$621 41.2% 63% $240

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Grecia

$267 17.7% 4.8% $12

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Grecia

$189 12.6% 6.4% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Grecia

$172 11.4% 25.8% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Grecia

$174 11.6% 56.1% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Grecia

$65 4.3% 3% $2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Grecia

$17 * 1.1% 65.9% $33

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 $442 in Grecia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $54 in Grecia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $267 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Grecia

🕒 Local time

23:27 11:27 PM

22:27 10:27 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

16,700

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Grecia 1,210 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Grecia

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 Grecia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Grecia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 11% 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 $442 in Grecia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $985 in Grecia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $54 in Grecia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,506 in Grecia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Grecia. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.