Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Iquique

For one person, living is cheaper in Iquique: $1,009 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,009

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,009 in Iquique.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Iquique $1,009

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,595 in Iquique.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Iquique $1,595

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,181 in Iquique.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Iquique $2,181

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 19% more expensive than in Iquique, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Iquique 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$7.52 CLP 7,405

44.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$40.89 CLP 40.3K

8.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.09 CLP 6,979

65.87%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.45 CLP 3,400

6.67%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.24 CLP 1,219

8.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.02 CLP 1,002

-19.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.19 CLP 3,141

-4.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.62 CLP 3,562

36.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.12 CLP 1,102

31.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.17 CLP 1,148

89.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.30 CLP 1,275

13.85%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.97 CLP 2,928

-16.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.38 CLP 10.2K

-27.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$10.13 CLP 9,973

-21.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.30 CLP 2,263

20.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.24 CLP 2,205

-36.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.49 CLP 1,466

75.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.09 CLP 1,071

96.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.73 CLP 722

176.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.58 CLP 574

243.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.05 CLP 1,030

8.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.35 CLP 1,328

-11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$7.01 CLP 6,904

-39.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.60 CLP 7,477

31.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$0.81 CLP 793

228.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.68 CLP 666

-22.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.44 CLP 1,419

0.69%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$85.7 CLP 84.4K

-0.39%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$15.04 CLP 14.8K

55.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$23.18 CLP 22.8K

22.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$50.1 CLP 49.3K

24.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.87 CLP 6,764

-25.76%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$251 CLP 247.1K

-19.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$30.07 CLP 29.6K

47.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$22.86 CLP 22.5K

80.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$45.02 CLP 44.3K

61.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$57.8 CLP 56.9K

55.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$413 CLP 406.6K

137.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$394 CLP 388.3K

-5.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$690 CLP 679.5K

143.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$781 CLP 769.1K

40.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,709 CLP 1.7M

131.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,902 CLP 1.9M

222.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$934 CLP 919.7K

-21.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.5

52.67%

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 Iquique: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Iquique

$394 39.1% 5.8% $22

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Iquique

$199 * 19.7% 23.1% $60

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Iquique

$155 15.4% 22.5% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Iquique

$124 12.3% 9.7% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Iquique

$70 7% 37.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Iquique

$64 6.3% 11.9% $8.6

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Iquique

$2.7 * 0.3% 94.8% $49

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 $979 in Playa del Carmen and $413 in Iquique. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $41.00 in Iquique for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $199 per month, with Iquique cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇱 Iquique

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

13:12 1:12 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

188,003

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Iquique 4,900 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Iquique

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 Iquique: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Iquique differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,009 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Iquique. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $413 in Iquique. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,009 in Iquique – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.