Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Iasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,256 in Iasi, rent and utilities included – about $620 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Iasi outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Iasi
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Iasi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Iasi

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,256 in Iasi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Iasi $1,256

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,841 in Iasi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Iasi $1,841

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,425 in Iasi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Iasi $2,425

Playa del Carmen is about 4% cheaper than Iasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Playa del Carmen and Iasi are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Iasi 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.50 RON 50.4

4.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$42.22 RON 202

2.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.18 RON 34.41

64.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.95 RON 14.16

29.15%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.28 RON 10.93

-43.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.78 RON 8.52

-56.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.20 RON 15.34

-0.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.84 RON 18.40

28.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.55 RON 7.43

-9.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.31 RON 6.30

69.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.97 RON 9.47

-27.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.25 RON 15.60

-22.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.23 RON 39.49

-11.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.59 RON 31.59

16.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$10.07 RON 48.27

26.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.31 RON 6.27

112.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.62 RON 7.76

-15.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.68 RON 8.03

51.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.12 RON 10.18

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.86 RON 4.11

125.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.82 RON 3.95

130.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.10 RON 5.28

4.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.94 RON 4.50

25.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$6.11 RON 29.32

-29.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.64 RON 31.85

49.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.34 RON 6.41

17.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.12 RON 10.15

25.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.85 RON 4.09

-35.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$27.49 RON 132

-3.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.80 RON 3.85

521.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.87 RON 4.17

282.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.14 RON 39.01

-34.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.92 RON 9.22

-25.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$28.6K RON 137.1K

-27.72%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$25.8K RON 123.9K

-9.20%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$181 RON 869

-53.19%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.28 RON 34.93

221.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$8.20 RON 39.32

249.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$43.94 RON 211

29.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$15.95 RON 76.5

81.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$8.58 RON 41.15

-40.09%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$385 RON 1,849

-46.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,965 RON 33.4K

-43.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$73.6 RON 353

-41.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$38.25 RON 183

8.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$92.0 RON 441

-19.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$89.0 RON 427

0.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$542 RON 2,601

80.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$435 RON 2,085

-12.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$836 RON 4,011

104.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$645 RON 3,093

66.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,797 RON 13.4K

40.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,907 RON 9,147

222.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,130 RON 5,417

-34.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.18

59.47%

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 Iasi: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Iasi

$435 34.6% 14.2% $54

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Iasi

$215 17.1% 15.6% $40

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Iasi

$181 14.4% 10.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Iasi

$197 15.7% 43.7% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Iasi

$132 10.5% 18% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Iasi

$61 4.9% 9.2% $6.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Iasi

$36 2.9% 28.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $542 in Iasi. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 54% higher in Iasi. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $42 in Iasi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $215 – making Iasi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Iasi

🕒 Local time

20:23 8:23 PM

03:23 3:23 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

290,422

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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 = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.8 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Iasi 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Iasi

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 Iasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,256 in Iasi – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 4% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,884 in Iasi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Iasi, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $542 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 3% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Interestingly, groceries are about 16% cheaper in Iasi – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,256 in Iasi, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,256 in Iasi. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Iasi makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.