Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Howick

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,081 a month against $1,204 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.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,081 in Howick.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Howick $1,081

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,676 in Howick.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Howick $1,676

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,271 in Howick.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Howick $2,271

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 11% more expensive than in Howick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Howick 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$8.03 R 133

35.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$38.85 R 645

11.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$5.50 R 91.3

114.18%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.66 R 44.23

43.23%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.09 R 18.19

17.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.92 R 15.32

-15.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.39 R 39.69

32.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.52 R 41.80

95.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.21 R 20.08

16.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$0.98 R 16.30

126.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.56 R 25.92

-8.97%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.34 R 38.88

7.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.23 R 137

-11.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.28 R 87.7

45.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$7.20 R 120

76.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.99 R 33.03

39.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.88 R 31.24

-27.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.92 R 31.86

32.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.70 R 28.22

24.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.49 R 24.76

30.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.46 R 24.33

29.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.21 R 20.17

-4.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.19 R 19.78

-0.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$3.68 R 61.1

16.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$4.84 R 80.4

105.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.45 R 24.15

8.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.88 R 31.23

42.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.54 R 25.52

-64.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.45 R 7.49

1004.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.75 R 12.41

344.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.56 R 126

-29.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.37 R 22.68

5.11%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$36.1K R 600.3K

-42.82%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$33.1K R 550.2K

-29.16%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$150 R 2,491

-43.46%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$15.25 R 253

53.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$40.18 R 667

-28.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$31.93 R 530

78.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$10.99 R 183

163.06%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.09 R 118

-27.50%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$309 R 5,141

-33.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,814 R 129.8K

-49.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$54.1 R 899

-19.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$30.61 R 508

35.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$98.5 R 1,636

-24.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$84.3 R 1,400

5.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$395 R 6,567

147.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$366 R 6,078

4.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$735 R 12.2K

132.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$734 R 12.2K

46.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$868 R 14.4K

354.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$675 R 11.2K

812.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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: October 25, 2026

Last update for Howick: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Howick

$366 33.9% 3.9% $15

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Howick

$195 18% 23.5% $60

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Howick

$138 12.8% 31.9% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Howick

$205 19% 50.1% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Howick

$120 11.1% 7.8% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Howick

$46 4.3% 31.5% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Howick

$10 * 1% 79.5% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $395 in Howick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $39 in Howick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $195 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Howick

🕒 Local time

03:59 3:59 AM

10:59 10:59 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

32,453

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.54 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Howick 13,700 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Howick

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 Howick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,621 in Howick 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $395 in Howick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $309 in Howick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Howick – a meal for two runs $39 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Howick gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.