Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Iskenderun

For one person, living is cheaper in Iskenderun: $965 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Iskenderun
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Iskenderun Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Iskenderun

🇹🇷 Turkey

$965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $965 in Iskenderun, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Iskenderun $965

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,450 in Iskenderun, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Iskenderun $1,450

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,935 in Iskenderun, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Iskenderun $1,935

Playa del Carmen costs about 25% more than Iskenderun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Iskenderun are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Iskenderun 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$6.01 ₺301

77.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$29.58 ₺1,480

48.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.11 ₺306

92.96%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.08 ₺154

23.05%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.11 ₺55.7

17.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.27 ₺13.51

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.39 ₺119

31.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.63 ₺132

87.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.03 ₺51.5

36.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.78 ₺39.26

182.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.67 ₺83.5

-11.98%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.85 ₺92.7

35.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.36 ₺368

-0.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.92 ₺196

102.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$17.71 ₺886

-27.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.62 ₺80.8

79.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.84 ₺92.1

-25.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.85 ₺42.55

192.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.07 ₺53.5

89.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.49 ₺24.53

312.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.37 ₺18.65

413.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.84 ₺42.07

35.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.61 ₺30.42

103.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.11 ₺106

102.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$9.93 ₺497

-1.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.32 ₺116

-31.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.20 ₺160

-14.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.66 ₺32.77

-22.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.98 ₺49.27

385.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.92 ₺46.09

253.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$10.06 ₺503

-46.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.25 ₺62.4

22.40%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$40.5K ₺2.0M

-47.60%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$41.4K ₺2.1M

-43.84%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$88.3 ₺4,417

-5.46%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.59 ₺480

141.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$10.35 ₺518

166.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$47.34 ₺2,368

19.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.10 ₺305

-18.03%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$443 ₺22.2K

-53.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$7,098 ₺355.1K

-26.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$53.4 ₺2,672

-18.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$28.94 ₺1,447

46.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$113 ₺5,642

-35.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$108 ₺5,411

-18.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$428 ₺21.4K

132.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$321 ₺16.1K

19.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$704 ₺35.2K

137.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$508 ₺25.4K

112.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,128 ₺56.4K

246.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$950 ₺47.5K

546.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,122 ₺56.1K

-25.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-67.29%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Iskenderun: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Iskenderun

$321 33.3% 16% $61

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Iskenderun

$206 21.3% 20.1% $52

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Iskenderun

$126 13.1% 37% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Iskenderun

$108 11.2% 19.4% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Iskenderun

$136 14.1% 22.7% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Iskenderun

$60 6.2% 10.4% $6.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Iskenderun

$8.2 * 0.9% 83.7% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $428 in Iskenderun. 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 35% higher in Iskenderun, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $30 in Iskenderun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $206 – making Iskenderun the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇷 Iskenderun

🕒 Local time

04:33 4:33 AM

12:33 12:33 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

246,639

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 50.02 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.21 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Iskenderun 11,300 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Iskenderun

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 Iskenderun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 25%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,448 in Iskenderun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Iskenderun, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $428 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $965 in Iskenderun. That makes Iskenderun about 20% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $443 in Iskenderun. 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 $965 in Iskenderun to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.