Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Invercargill

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,425 in Invercargill, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Invercargill
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Invercargill Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Invercargill

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,425

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Invercargill 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 Invercargill, rent included.

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

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,122 in Invercargill, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Invercargill $2,122

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,819 in Invercargill, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Invercargill $2,819

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$14.31 NZ$25.41

-23.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$62.1 NZ$110

-30.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.28 NZ$14.71

42.27%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.17 NZ$5.63

20.19%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.67 NZ$2.97

-23.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$2.13 NZ$3.79

-63.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.79 NZ$4.96

13.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.86 NZ$5.08

72.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.73 NZ$3.06

-18.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.91 NZ$3.39

16.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.77 NZ$3.15

-19.77%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$5.78 NZ$10.25

-56.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.67 NZ$15.40

-16.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$8.78 NZ$15.58

-12.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.05 NZ$21.39

5.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.70 NZ$4.80

2.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.40 NZ$4.26

-42.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$2.61 NZ$4.63

-2.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$3.44 NZ$6.10

-38.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$3.29 NZ$5.84

-41.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.66 NZ$2.95

13.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$2.30 NZ$4.09

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.05 NZ$1.86

12.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$21.03 NZ$37.34

-79.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.42 NZ$14.95

18.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$2.90 NZ$5.14

-45.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$3.29 NZ$5.85

-18.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$1.46 NZ$2.60

-62.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.24 NZ$3.98

121.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.89 NZ$3.35

76.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$28.04 NZ$49.78

-80.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.58 NZ$2.81

-8.86%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$24.1K NZ$42.8K

-14.29%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$18.6K NZ$33.0K

26.12%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$113 NZ$201

-25.12%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$32.59 NZ$57.9

-28.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$42.59 NZ$75.6

-32.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$28.26 NZ$50.2

101.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$14.12 NZ$25.07

104.75%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$8.86 NZ$15.73

-41.99%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$597 NZ$1,059

-65.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$59.1 NZ$105

-26.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$35.27 NZ$62.6

17.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$70.3 NZ$125

5.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$78.2 NZ$139

14.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$611 NZ$1,085

60.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$550 NZ$977

-30.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$835 NZ$1,482

104.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$769 NZ$1,365

39.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$5,776 NZ$10.3K

-31.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$5,013 NZ$8,899

22.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,756 NZ$4,894

-73.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.72

70.39%

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 Invercargill: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Invercargill

$550 38.6% 44.5% $170

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Invercargill

$301 21.1% 18.2% $46

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Invercargill

$212 14.9% 4.9% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Invercargill

$188 13.2% 37.7% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Invercargill

$109 7.7% 2.1% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Invercargill

$46 3.2% 31.7% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Invercargill

$18 * 1.2% 65.3% $33

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 $611 in Invercargill. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Invercargill are about 3.8 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 $62 in Invercargill. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $301 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Invercargill

🕒 Local time

23:35 11:35 PM

17:35 5:35 PM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

56,200

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Invercargill 12,750 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Invercargill

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 Invercargill: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Invercargill 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 $2,138 in Invercargill. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Invercargill, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $611 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,425 in Invercargill. That makes Playa del Carmen about 15% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $597 in Invercargill. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

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 Invercargill. 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, Invercargill makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.