Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Iksan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,425 in Iksan, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Iksan
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Iksan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Iksan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,425

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,425 in Iksan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Iksan $1,425

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,209 in Iksan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Iksan $2,209

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,994 in Iksan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Iksan $2,994

Playa del Carmen is about 15% cheaper than Iksan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Iksan is 5% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$5.97 ₩8,018

82.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.23 ₩46.0K

26.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.81 ₩9,143

72.98%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.66 ₩4,908

4.10%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.62 ₩2,173

-20.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.63 ₩845

23.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.50 ₩4,700

-9.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.37 ₩5,870

12.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.27 ₩3,050

-37.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$3.18 ₩4,267

-30.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.35 ₩3,153

-39.57%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.26 ₩4,383

-22.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$15.98 ₩21.5K

-54.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$8.09 ₩10.9K

-4.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$11.41 ₩15.3K

11.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$7.69 ₩10.3K

-63.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.22 ₩4,326

-57.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$7.48 ₩10.0K

-65.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$6.83 ₩9,168

-68.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$3.60 ₩4,831

-46.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.42 ₩3,252

-21.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.04 ₩2,737

-43.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.35 ₩1,807

-12.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.44 ₩4,621

25.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$18.82 ₩25.3K

-47.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.24 ₩3,008

-29.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.37 ₩4,525

-20.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.11 ₩1,486

-50.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.61 ₩4,845

37.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.66 ₩890

404.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$9.02 ₩12.1K

-40.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.34 ₩1,800

7.46%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$29.0K ₩39.0M

-28.85%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$36.3K ₩48.7M

-35.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$211 ₩283.4K

-59.83%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$43.19 ₩58.0K

-45.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$20.62 ₩27.7K

38.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$53.5 ₩71.8K

6.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$14.03 ₩18.8K

106.06%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$11.41 ₩15.3K

-54.95%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$298 ₩400.5K

-30.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$17.7K ₩23.8M

-77.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$65.3 ₩87.7K

-33.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$63.5 ₩85.3K

-34.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$75.3 ₩101.1K

-1.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$99.0 ₩132.9K

-9.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$496 ₩666.6K

97.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$362 ₩485.6K

5.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,153 ₩1.5M

48.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$762 ₩1.0M

41.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$7,047 ₩9.5M

-44.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$5,569 ₩7.5M

10.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,734 ₩2.3M

-57.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.1

179.27%

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 Iksan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Iksan

$362 25.4% 5% $19

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Iksan

$417 29.3% 63.6% $162

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Iksan

$147 10.3% 27.2% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Iksan

$275 19.3% 101% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Iksan

$136 9.6% 22.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Iksan

$76 5.4% 13.3% $9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Iksan

$11 * 0.8% 77.5% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $496 in Iksan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Iksan are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $34 in Iksan. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $417 in Iksan – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Iksan

🕒 Local time

15:37 3:37 PM

05:37 5:37 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

307,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, 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).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Iksan 12,780 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Iksan

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 Iksan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Iksan costs about 18% more than Playa del Carmen, 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 $2,137 in Iksan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Iksan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $496 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $34 in Iksan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% more in Iksan, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,425 in Iksan. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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