Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kabwe

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabwe: $567 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Kabwe
Learn more

Kabwe Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kabwe

🇿🇲 Zambia

$567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $567 in Kabwe, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kabwe $567

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $899 in Kabwe, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kabwe $899

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,232 in Kabwe, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kabwe $1,232

Playa del Carmen costs about 112% more than Kabwe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kabwe are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kabwe 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.59 ZMW 113

95.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$30.24 ZMW 611

43.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.03 ZMW 102

134.19%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.72 ZMW 55.0

40.07%

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

$1.28 MX$24.04

$0.76 ZMW 15.45

68.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.68

$0.45 ZMW 9.14

73.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.4

$1.25 ZMW 25.28

153.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$2.27 ZMW 45.82

117.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.37

$1.66 ZMW 33.59

-15.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.57

$1.21 ZMW 24.53

83.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.57

$2.09 ZMW 42.29

-32.06%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.30

$1.18 ZMW 23.92

113.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.35 ZMW 209

-29.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.43 ZMW 130

19.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$6.41 ZMW 130

97.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$3.24 ZMW 65.5

-14.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.65

$0.95 ZMW 19.28

44.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.83

$3.63 ZMW 73.3

-29.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.81

$1.54 ZMW 31.04

37.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.34

$2.57 ZMW 51.9

-24.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.36

$1.84 ZMW 37.19

2.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.50

$1.13 ZMW 22.86

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.11

$0.75 ZMW 15.07

57.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.03 ZMW 61.1

41.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.71 ZMW 196

2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.69

$1.40 ZMW 28.31

12.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.32 ZMW 46.77

15.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.2

$2.53 ZMW 51.1

96.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.48 ZMW 29.80

125.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$4.85 ZMW 97.9

10.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$1.37 ZMW 27.59

5.11%

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

$20.7K MX$387.5K

$7,409 ZMW 149.7K

178.93%

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

$23.5K MX$440.0K

$27.2K ZMW 549.2K

-13.69%

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

$84.8 MX$1,590

$78.5 ZMW 1,586

7.99%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$10.37 ZMW 210

125.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$54.2 ZMW 1,095

-47.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,070

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.4

$5.85 ZMW 118

-12.14%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$137 ZMW 2,762

51.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$16.4K ZMW 331.1K

-76.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$813

$22.90 ZMW 463

89.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$15.36 ZMW 310

169.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,391

$44.90 ZMW 907

65.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,673

$71.3 ZMW 1,441

25.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,140

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-60.52%

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 Kabwe: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kabwe

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kabwe

$224 39.6% 11.9% $30

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kabwe

$108 19.1% 46.6% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kabwe

$143 25.3% 4.6% $6.3

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kabwe

$70 12.3% 37.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kabwe

$12 * 2.1% 82.6% $56

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kabwe

$9.9 * 1.8% 80.4% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $30 in Kabwe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $224 – making Kabwe the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇲 Kabwe

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

02:29 2:29 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

117,517

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

100 ZMW = 4.95 USD

100 ZMW = 4.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 18.75 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 20.2 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.95 USD). 1 EUR = 22.51 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.44 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kabwe 13,190 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kabwe

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 Kabwe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 112% more than Kabwe, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $850 in Kabwe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $30 in Kabwe. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 14% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kabwe, where all-in costs run around $567, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Kabwe it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $567 in Kabwe to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.