Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hillcrest

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,081 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
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Hillcrest Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,081 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Hillcrest $1,081

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,686 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hillcrest $1,686

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,292 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Hillcrest $2,292

Playa del Carmen costs about 11% more than Hillcrest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Hillcrest are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Hillcrest 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.87 R 129

35.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$38.34 R 629

14.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.01 R 98.6

96.17%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.71 R 44.53

39.85%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.14 R 18.70

14.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.90 R 14.71

-7.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.45 R 40.23

28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.50 R 41.05

97.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.18 R 19.28

19.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.98 R 16.13

124.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.50 R 24.59

-2.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.32 R 38.10

7.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.19 R 134

-10.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.05 R 82.8

57.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.27 R 119

76.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.29 R 21.22

124.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.93 R 31.60

-28.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.95 R 31.93

27.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.73 R 28.43

17.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.46 R 23.99

38.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.44 R 23.67

31.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.21 R 19.77

-5.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.14 R 18.71

8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.71 R 60.8

15.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$4.80 R 78.7

104.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.41 R 23.10

12.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.96 R 32.19

40.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.54 R 25.19

-66.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.44 R 7.14

981.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.71 R 11.61

357.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.70 R 126

-30.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.45 R 23.84

5.52%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$35.2K R 577.7K

-39.75%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$33.1K R 542.3K

-29.62%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$153 R 2,511

-45.44%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$35.61 R 584

-34.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$39.04 R 641

-29.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$33.00 R 541

71.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.55 R 222

108.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.29 R 120

-31.41%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$310 R 5,092

-33.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$7,429 R 121.9K

-29.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$51.6 R 846

-15.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$27.96 R 459

52.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$97.0 R 1,591

-24.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$79.2 R 1,299

11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$377 R 6,179

164.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$353 R 5,785

8.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$640 R 10.5K

161.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$732 R 12.0K

47.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$764 R 12.5K

411.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$575 R 9,430

967.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.78

-2.80%

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 Hillcrest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Hillcrest

$353 32.6% 7.8% $30

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Hillcrest

$189 17.5% 26.5% $68

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Hillcrest

$139 12.9% 30.6% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Hillcrest

$228 21.1% 69.6% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Hillcrest

$115 10.6% 3.4% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Hillcrest

$48 4.4% 28.4% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hillcrest

$10 * 0.9% 80% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $377 in Hillcrest. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in Hillcrest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $189 – making Hillcrest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

06:05 6:05 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hillcrest 13,750 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hillcrest

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 Hillcrest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $1,081 in Hillcrest – Hillcrest comes out roughly 10% 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 $1,622 in Hillcrest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $377 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $38 in Hillcrest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,081 in Hillcrest, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Hillcrest costs $1,081 versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.