Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hella

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,723 in Hella, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. The total is higher in Hella despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Hella
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Hella Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Hella

🇮🇸 Iceland

$1,723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,723 in Hella, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Hella $1,723

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,927 in Hella, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hella $2,927

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,131 in Hella, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Hella $4,131

Playa del Carmen is about 30% cheaper than Hella, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Hella is 27% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$31.22 ISK 3,790

-65.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$121 ISK 14.7K

-63.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$27.24 ISK 3,307

-56.72%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$6.89 ISK 836

-44.99%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$3.25 ISK 395

-60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$3.08 ISK 374

-73.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$14.16 ISK 1,719

-77.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$12.30 ISK 1,493

-59.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.00 ISK 243

-29.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$4.30 ISK 522

-48.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$3.66 ISK 444

-59.84%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$7.27 ISK 883

-65.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$21.85 ISK 2,652

-66.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$24.10 ISK 2,925

-67.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$41.15 ISK 4,995

-68.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.36 ISK 408

-13.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.83 ISK 343

-51.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$3.21 ISK 390

-22.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$6.56 ISK 797

-69.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.91 ISK 475

-48.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.69 ISK 205

12.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$3.64 ISK 442

-68.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.83 ISK 223

-32.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$13.97 ISK 1,696

-69.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$23.32 ISK 2,832

-57.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$3.66 ISK 445

-56.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.49 ISK 423

-21.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$6.76 ISK 821

-29.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.75 ISK 333

18.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$80.8 ISK 9,805

-93.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.10 ISK 255

-27.14%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$67.9K ISK 8.2M

-68.74%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$56.3K ISK 6.8M

-58.65%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$96.8 ISK 11.8K

-13.78%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$32.49 ISK 3,944

-28.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$85.0 ISK 10.3K

-67.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$19.81 ISK 2,405

-74.76%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$1,205 ISK 146.3K

-82.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$25.4K ISK 3.1M

-79.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$150 ISK 18.2K

-71.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$66.8 ISK 8,105

-36.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$185 ISK 22.4K

-60.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$252 ISK 30.6K

-64.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hella: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Hella

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Hella

$619 35.9% 141% $362

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Hella

$535 31.1% 167% $335

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Hella

$214 12.4% 59.6% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Hella

$294 17.1% 165% $183

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Hella

$40 * 2.3% 40.4% $27

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hella

$20 * 1.2% 59.4% $30

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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $121 in Hella. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $619 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇸 Hella

🕒 Local time

23:56 11:56 PM

04:56 4:56 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.37 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 121 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD). 1 EUR = 136 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.37 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hella 6,820 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hella

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 Hella: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $1,723 in Hella – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 30% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,584 in Hella. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,723 in Hella. That makes Playa del Carmen about 30% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,205 in Hella. 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 $1,202, than in Hella at $1,723. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Hella 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 $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,723 in Hella. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.