Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hafnarfjordur

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,853 in Hafnarfjordur, rent and utilities included – about $31,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
184

Cost of Living Index in Hafnarfjordur
Learn more

Hafnarfjordur Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Hafnarfjordur

🇮🇸 Iceland

$3,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,853 in Hafnarfjordur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Hafnarfjordur $3,853

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,410 in Hafnarfjordur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hafnarfjordur $5,410

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $6,967 in Hafnarfjordur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Hafnarfjordur $6,967

Playa del Carmen is about 69% cheaper than Hafnarfjordur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Hafnarfjordur is 183% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$31.04 ISK 3,768

-64.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$125 ISK 15.1K

-65.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$16.40 ISK 1,991

-28.17%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$6.71 ISK 814

-43.22%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$3.33 ISK 405

-61.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$3.14 ISK 382

-75.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$14.02 ISK 1,703

-77.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$12.11 ISK 1,470

-59.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.67 ISK 203

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$4.21 ISK 511

-47.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.71 ISK 450

-61.73%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$7.26 ISK 881

-65.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$21.51 ISK 2,611

-66.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$24.40 ISK 2,962

-68.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$41.76 ISK 5,070

-69.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.24 ISK 394

-14.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.48 ISK 301

-44.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.19 ISK 388

-20.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$6.41 ISK 779

-66.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.93 ISK 477

-50.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.64 ISK 200

15.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$3.69 ISK 448

-68.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.82 ISK 221

-35.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$14.04 ISK 1,705

-69.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$24.05 ISK 2,920

-58.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$3.53 ISK 428

-55.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.38 ISK 411

-21.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$5.10 ISK 620

-89.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$85.0 ISK 10.3K

-68.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$6.92 ISK 840

-28.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.84 ISK 345

17.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$80.8 ISK 9,811

-93.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.00 ISK 243

-28.00%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$68.7K ISK 8.3M

-69.93%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$55.8K ISK 6.8M

-57.92%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$69.4 ISK 8,419

22.26%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$32.65 ISK 3,964

-28.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$85.0 ISK 10.3K

-66.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$65.1 ISK 7,900

-12.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$17.08 ISK 2,073

-69.91%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$1,172 ISK 142.3K

-82.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$25.9K ISK 3.1M

-84.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$125 ISK 15.1K

-65.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$67.1 ISK 8,150

-38.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$124 ISK 15.1K

-40.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$246 ISK 29.9K

-63.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$2,496 ISK 303.1K

-60.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$2,075 ISK 251.8K

-81.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$3,232 ISK 392.3K

-47.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$2,670 ISK 324.2K

-59.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$7,011 ISK 851.1K

-43.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$7,014 ISK 851.6K

-12.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$4,674 ISK 567.4K

-84.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.81

29.97%

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 Hafnarfjordur: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Hafnarfjordur

$2.1K 53.8% 445% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Hafnarfjordur

$615 16% 141% $360

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Hafnarfjordur

$498 12.9% 146% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Hafnarfjordur

$187 4.9% 36.7% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Hafnarfjordur

$253 6.6% 127% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Hafnarfjordur

$99 2.6% 47.4% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hafnarfjordur

$127 3.3% 151% $76

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,496 in Hafnarfjordur. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Hafnarfjordur are about 6.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $125 in Hafnarfjordur. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $615 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇸 Hafnarfjordur

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

08:16 8:16 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

31,525

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ISK, 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).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 121 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD). 1 EUR = 135 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.38 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hafnarfjordur 6,750 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hafnarfjordur

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 Hafnarfjordur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hafnarfjordur costs about 220% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $5,780 in Hafnarfjordur. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $2,496 in Hafnarfjordur.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $3,853 in Hafnarfjordur. That makes Playa del Carmen about 69% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 69% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Hafnarfjordur at $3,853. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Hafnarfjordur it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Hafnarfjordur makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.