Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hamont-Achel

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,249 in Hamont-Achel, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Hamont-Achel
Learn more

Hamont-Achel Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Hamont-Achel

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,249

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Hamont-Achel

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 Hamont-Achel actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,249 in Hamont-Achel.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Hamont-Achel $2,249

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,279 in Hamont-Achel.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hamont-Achel $3,279

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,309 in Hamont-Achel.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Hamont-Achel $4,309

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 47% less than in Hamont-Achel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Hamont-Achel is 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$22.57 €20.16

-52.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$88.6 €79.1

-50.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$15.34 €13.70

-23.14%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$4.51 €4.03

-15.96%

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

$1.30 MX$24.09

$3.78 €3.38

-65.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.48

$3.10 €2.77

-73.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$5.54 €4.95

-43.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$5.65 €5.04

-12.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.35 €1.20

4.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.77

$2.82 €2.52

-21.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.35

$2.83 €2.53

-48.06%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.37

$5.16 €4.61

-51.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$17.81 €15.91

-59.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$13.10 €11.70

-39.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$22.14 €19.78

-41.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$3.01 €2.69

-3.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.69

$2.43 €2.17

-43.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.26

$2.77 €2.48

-10.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.70

$4.02 €3.59

-49.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.61

$2.55 €2.28

-20.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$2.17 €1.94

-12.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.25

$1.80 €1.60

-36.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.01

$1.21 €1.08

2.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$13.46 €12.03

-68.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$9.71 €8.67

1.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.45

$2.62 €2.34

-39.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$3.00 €2.68

-8.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$3.03 €2.71

-83.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

$54.5 €48.65

-49.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$2.89 €2.58

64.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$2.25 €2.01

44.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$41.01 €36.63

-86.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.38

$2.17 €1.93

-29.49%

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

$21.2K MX$393.9K

$34.9K €31.2K

-39.27%

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

$23.3K MX$432.0K

$36.0K €32.1K

-35.31%

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

$83.5 MX$1,550

$277 €248

-69.90%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$20.79 €18.57

11.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$513

$52.7 €47.08

-47.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,048

$36.94 €33.00

52.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

$19.63 €17.54

43.61%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.9

$15.60 €13.93

-67.95%

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

$207 MX$3,846

$1,632 €1,458

-87.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$37.3K €33.3K

-85.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$807

$104 €92.5

-58.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$790

$45.31 €40.47

-6.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,351

$112 €99.6

-34.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,641

$148 €132

-40.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$908 €811

9.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,102

$826 €738

-53.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$1,379 €1,231

21.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,144 €1,022

-5.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.6K

$4,216 €3,765

-7.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.0K

$2,943 €2,628

108.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.71

208.63%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hamont-Achel: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Hamont-Achel

$826 36.7% 116% $444

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Hamont-Achel

$392 17.4% 52.3% $135

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Hamont-Achel

$347 15.4% 73.4% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Hamont-Achel

$351 15.6% 161% $217

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Hamont-Achel

$184 8.2% 65.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Hamont-Achel

$68 3% 2.6% $1.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hamont-Achel

$81 3.6% 59.9% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $908 in Hamont-Achel. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $89 in Hamont-Achel for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $392 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇪 Hamont-Achel

🕒 Local time

07:38 7:38 AM

13:38 1:38 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

14,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hamont-Achel 8,410 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hamont-Achel

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 Hamont-Achel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 47% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $3,373 in Hamont-Achel to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $908 in Hamont-Achel. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $2,249 in Hamont-Achel – Playa del Carmen is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 50% less than in Hamont-Achel. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,249 in Hamont-Achel, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Hamont-Achel. 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.