Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Karawang

For one person, living is cheaper in Karawang: $457 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Karawang
Learn more

Karawang Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Karawang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $457 in Karawang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Karawang $457

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $824 in Karawang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Karawang $824

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,191 in Karawang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Karawang $1,191

Playa del Carmen costs about 163% more than Karawang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Karawang are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Karawang 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$1.42 Rp 25.8K

651.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$11.17 Rp 202.6K

292.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$3.39 Rp 61.6K

247.79%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

154.36%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.42 Rp 7,629

209.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.21 Rp 3,851

295.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$3.02 Rp 54.8K

4.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$3.05 Rp 55.4K

61.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.08 Rp 19.5K

30.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

115.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$0.84 Rp 15.3K

75.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$1.45 Rp 26.3K

72.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$2.73 Rp 49.6K

167.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$2.76 Rp 50.1K

188.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$7.70 Rp 139.7K

67.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$1.82 Rp 33.0K

59.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.08 Rp 19.5K

27.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.22 Rp 22.1K

104.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$0.51 Rp 9,295

298.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$0.89 Rp 16.2K

126.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.48 Rp 26.9K

28.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.67 Rp 12.2K

70.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.43 Rp 7,788

188.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$2.63 Rp 47.7K

62.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$22.00 Rp 399.3K

-55.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

-14.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$3.20 Rp 58.1K

-14.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.25 Rp 4,560

104.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$11.38 Rp 206.5K

140.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$0.86 Rp 15.7K

453.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.54 Rp 9,809

501.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$1.08 Rp 19.7K

399.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$0.83 Rp 15.1K

84.34%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$21.1K Rp 383.8M

0.30%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$32.0K Rp 581.1M

-27.35%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$32.76 Rp 594.6K

154.85%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$4.21 Rp 76.4K

450.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$12.47 Rp 226.4K

121.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$20.15 Rp 365.7K

180.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$8.33 Rp 151.1K

238.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$2.80 Rp 50.8K

78.57%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$43.31 Rp 785.9K

378.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$8,151 Rp 147.9M

-35.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$16.79 Rp 304.6K

158.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$27.09 Rp 491.7K

57.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$48.47 Rp 879.6K

50.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$48.73 Rp 884.4K

81.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$136 Rp 2.5M

631.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$67.8 Rp 1.2M

464.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$544 Rp 9.9M

207.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$364 Rp 6.6M

197.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,156 Rp 21.0M

237.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$782 Rp 14.2M

685.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$404 Rp 7.3M

105.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.38

0.62%

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 Karawang: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Karawang

$68 14.8% 82.3% $315

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Karawang

$171 37.5% 33.4% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Karawang

$63 13.8% 68.5% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Karawang

$49 10.8% 63.2% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Karawang

$63 13.9% 42.9% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Karawang

$26 5.6% 61.2% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Karawang

$16 3.5% 68.4% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $136 in Karawang. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.1 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $11 in Karawang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $171 – making Karawang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇩 Karawang

🕒 Local time

04:10 4:10 AM

16:10 4:10 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

273,472

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18,148 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,345 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Karawang 17,790 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Karawang

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 Karawang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 163% more than Karawang, 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 $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $685 in Karawang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Karawang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $136 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $11 in Karawang. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $457 in Karawang. That makes Karawang about 62% cheaper.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Karawang, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Karawang it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Karawang – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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