Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Huancayo

For one person, living is cheaper in Huancayo: $488 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Huancayo
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Huancayo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Huancayo

🇵🇪 Peru

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $488 in Huancayo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Huancayo $488

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $825 in Huancayo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Huancayo $825

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,162 in Huancayo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Huancayo $1,162

Playa del Carmen costs about 147% more than Huancayo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Huancayo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Huancayo 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$2.27 PEN 7.80

378.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$34.56 PEN 119

27.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$6.86 PEN 23.54

71.43%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.29 PEN 11.31

11.85%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.12 PEN 3.83

19.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.64 PEN 2.20

28.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.59 PEN 8.91

18.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.29 PEN 14.73

15.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.15 PEN 3.93

27.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.05 PEN 3.60

111.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.29 PEN 4.43

14.73%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.41 PEN 8.26

3.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$5.14 PEN 17.64

46.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$5.97 PEN 20.49

33.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$5.20 PEN 17.87

141.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.41 PEN 4.86

97.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.03 PEN 3.53

38.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$0.55 PEN 1.90

376.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.19 PEN 4.10

79.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.85 PEN 2.93

137.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.89 PEN 3.05

123.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.57 PEN 1.96

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.89 PEN 3.07

34.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$5.70 PEN 19.57

-25.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$5.09 PEN 17.47

96.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.87 PEN 6.41

-17.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.18 PEN 10.91

-16.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.59 PEN 2.03

-10.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$17.38 PEN 59.7

58.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.84 PEN 6.32

166.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.00 PEN 6.88

71.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$7.22 PEN 24.79

-25.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.43 PEN 4.91

1.40%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$21.7K PEN 74.6K

-2.66%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

-10.46%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$34.52 PEN 119

147.28%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$11.76 PEN 40.39

99.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$11.82 PEN 40.59

140.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.30 PEN 25.07

-30.14%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$182 PEN 624

10.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

-69.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$53.8 PEN 185

-17.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$35.51 PEN 122

16.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$85.3 PEN 293

-14.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$80.1 PEN 275

11.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$324 PEN 1,112

202.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.94

28.08%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Huancayo: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Huancayo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Huancayo

$162 33.2% 37.2% $96

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Huancayo

$107 21.9% 46.6% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Huancayo

$58 11.9% 57.7% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Huancayo

$115 23.5% 2.7% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Huancayo

$15 * 3% 79.8% $58

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Huancayo

$32 6.5% 38.8% $20

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $324 in Huancayo. 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $35.00 in Huancayo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $162 – making Huancayo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇪 Huancayo

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

27,552

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Huancayo 3,860 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Huancayo

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 Huancayo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 147% more than Huancayo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $732 in Huancayo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Huancayo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $488 in Huancayo. That's a gap of about 147%.

Public transport costs about 58% less in Huancayo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Huancayo, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Huancayo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Huancayo costs $488 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Huancayo. 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.