Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hawassa

For one person, living is cheaper in Hawassa: $834 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Hawassa
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Hawassa Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Hawassa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$834

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $834 in Hawassa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Hawassa $834

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,199 in Hawassa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Hawassa $1,199

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,564 in Hawassa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Hawassa $1,564

Playa del Carmen costs about 45% more than Hawassa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Playa del Carmen and Hawassa are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Hawassa 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$3.90 ETB 625

175.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$42.11 ETB 6,758

2.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$6.56 ETB 1,054

79.73%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$0.95 ETB 153

307.37%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.63 ETB 102

117.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.69 ETB 110

21.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$0.83 ETB 133

273.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.30 ETB 370

120.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.07 ETB 172

34.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.17 ETB 188

90.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.01 ETB 163

45.54%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.58 ETB 253

60.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.40 ETB 1,188

-1.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$10.07 ETB 1,616

-21.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.09 ETB 1,458

40.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$5.35 ETB 859

-45.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$0.68 ETB 109

111.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.13 ETB 341

19.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$0.66 ETB 106

212.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.50 ETB 80.5

300.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.06 ETB 169

89.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.69 ETB 110

72.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.57 ETB 91.3

121.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$8.18 ETB 1,312

-46.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.55 ETB 891

72.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.66 ETB 106

140.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.28 ETB 206

119.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.31 ETB 210

280.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.27 ETB 42.86

1196.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$2.03 ETB 326

166.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.92 ETB 147

59.78%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$54.6K ETB 8.8M

-61.57%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$56.4K ETB 9.0M

-57.59%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$202 ETB 32.5K

-58.35%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$7.21 ETB 1,158

232.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$213 ETB 34.2K

-86.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$3.84 ETB 616

28.65%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$136 ETB 21.9K

49.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$30.2K ETB 4.9M

-86.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$33.37 ETB 5,356

30.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$70.7 ETB 11.3K

-39.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$78.6 ETB 12.6K

-3.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$83.6 ETB 13.4K

6.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$494 ETB 79.3K

1148.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

18.5

-38.11%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hawassa: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Hawassa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Hawassa

$205 24.6% 20.5% $53

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Hawassa

$76 9.2% 62.3% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Hawassa

$423 50.6% 208% $285

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Hawassa

$120 14.4% 6% $6.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Hawassa

$7.7 * 0.9% 89.5% $65

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Hawassa

$2.6 * 0.3% 95% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $42.00 in Hawassa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $205 – making Hawassa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇹 Hawassa

🕒 Local time

02:22 2:22 AM

10:22 10:22 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

160,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.23 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 160 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.23 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hawassa 13,320 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hawassa

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 Hawassa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $834 in Hawassa – roughly 45% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,252 in Hawassa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $42.00 in Hawassa. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 26% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hawassa, where all-in costs run around $834, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Hawassa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen 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 $834 in Hawassa to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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