Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Guatemala City

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,342 in Guatemala City, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Guatemala City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Guatemala City
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Guatemala City Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Guatemala City

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,342

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Guatemala City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,342 in Guatemala City.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Guatemala City $1,342

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,012 in Guatemala City.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Guatemala City $2,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,682 in Guatemala City.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Guatemala City $2,682

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 10% less than in Guatemala City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.70 Q 51.2

62.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$50.3 Q 384

-13.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.73 Q 59.1

52.39%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.36 Q 25.64

13.39%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.10 Q 8.40

16.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.94 Q 7.16

-17.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$3.35 Q 25.63

-5.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.70 Q 35.89

4.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.09 Q 15.94

-32.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$3.02 Q 23.06

-26.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.02 Q 15.41

-29.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.46 Q 18.79

2.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.23 Q 47.58

16.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$9.22 Q 70.5

-16.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$13.25 Q 101

-4.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.96 Q 30.30

-29.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.72 Q 13.15

-20.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.91 Q 22.26

-12.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.61 Q 12.29

31.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.53 Q 11.72

26.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.16 Q 16.52

-12.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.74 Q 5.62

55.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.15 Q 8.82

2.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.95 Q 30.21

8.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.32 Q 63.6

19.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.74 Q 13.32

-9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.64 Q 20.21

1.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.00 Q 7.61

-45.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$11.02 Q 84.2

141.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$5.35 Q 40.89

-7.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$10.40 Q 79.5

-48.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.34 Q 10.25

7.46%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$26.9K Q 205.9K

-23.29%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$25.1K Q 192.0K

-6.62%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$73.9 Q 565

14.75%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$28.90 Q 221

-19.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$45.99 Q 351

-37.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$37.09 Q 283

53.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$13.17 Q 101

119.51%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.30 Q 48.15

-18.41%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$347 Q 2,651

-40.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$6,617 Q 50.6K

-40.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$48.69 Q 372

-10.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$48.32 Q 369

-14.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$118 Q 903

-37.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$111 Q 849

-19.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$816 Q 6,237

20.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$545 Q 4,166

-30.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,552 Q 11.9K

10.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$822 Q 6,279

30.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,038 Q 15.6K

93.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,100 Q 8,403

459.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$866 Q 6,615

-15.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.62

-1.46%

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 Guatemala City: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Guatemala City

$545 40.6% 43.2% $164

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Guatemala City

$280 20.8% 9.8% $25

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Guatemala City

$151 11.3% 25.2% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Guatemala City

$149 11.1% 8.7% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Guatemala City

$147 10.9% 31.4% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Guatemala City

$50 3.7% 26.2% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Guatemala City

$20 * 1.5% 59.7% $30

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 $816 in Guatemala City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guatemala City pays 18% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $50 in Guatemala City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $280 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇹 Guatemala City

🕒 Local time

02:34 2:34 AM

01:34 1:34 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,450,212 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.53 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Guatemala City 760 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Guatemala City

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 Guatemala City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Guatemala City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 15% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $816 in Guatemala City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $50 in Guatemala City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,342 in Guatemala City – Playa del Carmen is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Guatemala City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.