Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gulbene

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,289 in Gulbene, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Gulbene
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Gulbene Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gulbene

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,289 in Gulbene, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gulbene $1,289

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,973 in Gulbene, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Gulbene $1,973

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,657 in Gulbene, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Gulbene $2,657

Playa del Carmen is about 7% cheaper than Gulbene, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Gulbene are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Gulbene 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$16.73 €14.88

-35.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$68.5 €60.9

-35.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$9.45 €8.41

24.44%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.82 €3.40

-3.66%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.59 €1.41

-15.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.20 €1.07

-31.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$5.57 €4.95

-45.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.18 €4.61

-4.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.19 €1.06

23.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.50 €1.33

48.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.54 €2.26

-41.73%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.72 €3.30

-33.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.70 €9.52

-29.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.74 €7.77

-8.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$13.98 €12.43

-10.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.09 €1.86

33.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.77 €1.57

-19.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.56 €2.27

2.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.25 €2.89

-34.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.88 €0.79

129.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.95 €0.84

109.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.77 €1.57

-35.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.98 €0.87

22.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.53 €5.81

-34.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$8.02 €7.14

24.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.01 €1.79

-23.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.02 €1.79

31.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.41 €3.03

43.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.99 €0.88

246.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$17.96 €15.97

-70.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.12 €1.89

-31.60%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$27.3K €24.3K

-22.53%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$29.7K €26.4K

-22.55%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$368 €328

-76.83%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$19.94 €17.74

17.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$19.84 €17.65

43.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$11.06 €9.83

-53.89%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$674 €599

-70.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$18.4K €16.4K

-78.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$70.2 €62.4

-36.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$51.0 €45.33

-18.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$86.2 €76.7

-15.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$136 €121

-34.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$190 €169

415.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$168 €149

122.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$352 €313

377.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$332 €295

229.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$681 €605

480.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$568 €505

980.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.77

140.04%

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 Gulbene: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Gulbene

$168 13% 55% $205

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Gulbene

$271 21% 4.7% $12

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Gulbene

$257 20% 28.6% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gulbene

$408 31.7% 198% $271

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gulbene

$155 12% 38.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Gulbene

$22 * 1.7% 69.5% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Gulbene

$8.3 * 0.7% 83.9% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $190 in Gulbene. 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 $69.0 in Gulbene. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $271 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇻 Gulbene

🕒 Local time

19:15 7:15 PM

03:15 3:15 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,500

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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 Gulbene 9,430 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gulbene

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 Gulbene: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,289 in Gulbene – roughly 7% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,934 in Gulbene. 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,289 in Gulbene. That's a gap of about 7%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $674 in Gulbene. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Gulbene at $1,289. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Gulbene it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,289 in Gulbene. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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