Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Horana

For one person, living is cheaper in Horana: $456 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Horana
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Horana Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Horana

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$456

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $456 in Horana.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Horana $456

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $735 in Horana.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Horana $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,014 in Horana.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Horana $1,014

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 164% more expensive than in Horana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Horana 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$1.84 LKR 611

493.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.86 LKR 8,265

74.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.47 LKR 2,484

57.70%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.52 LKR 838

51.19%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.59 LKR 195

116.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.22 LKR 73.3

254.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.25 LKR 747

40.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.07 LKR 1,021

60.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.55 LKR 516

-9.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.43 LKR 143

416.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.61 LKR 204

132.79%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.69 LKR 562

49.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.86 LKR 4,608

-47.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.99 LKR 1,327

92.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.44 LKR 2,472

70.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.37 LKR 787

17.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.34 LKR 115

302.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$4.26 LKR 1,418

-40.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.34 LKR 445

58.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.65 LKR 216

198.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.69 LKR 230

173.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.95 LKR 316

21.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.46 LKR 153

156.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$10.20 LKR 3,389

-57.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.91 LKR 4,292

-22.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.88 LKR 625

-15.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.03 LKR 1,008

-11.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.38 LKR 125

1207.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.37 LKR 124

800.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$0.94 LKR 313

470.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.32 LKR 437

9.09%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.2K LKR 14.3M

-52.12%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$39.9K LKR 13.3M

-41.16%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$58.2 LKR 19.4K

45.61%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$3.02 LKR 1,004

675.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$20.80 LKR 6,914

37.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.55 LKR 1,511

12.97%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$38.12 LKR 12.7K

441.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$1,188 LKR 395.0K

230.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$17.79 LKR 5,915

143.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$16.33 LKR 5,430

153.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$79.7 LKR 26.5K

-6.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$41.70 LKR 13.9K

114.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.69

-9.77%

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 Horana: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Horana

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Horana

$205 44.9% 19.7% $50

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Horana

$88 19.3% 56.5% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Horana

$82 18% 40% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Horana

$70 15.4% 37.4% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Horana

$9.1 * 2% 86.5% $58

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Horana

$2.2 * 0.5% 95.6% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $25 in Horana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $205 per month, with Horana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Horana

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

23:36 11:36 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Horana 16,670 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Horana

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 Horana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Horana is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and groceries. The 164% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $684 in Horana 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.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in Horana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Horana – a meal for two runs $25 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $456 in Horana versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Horana but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Horana 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.