Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kaunas

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,477 in Kaunas, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Kaunas outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in Kaunas
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Kaunas Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Kaunas

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$1,477

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,477 in Kaunas.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Kaunas $1,477

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,144 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,241 in Kaunas.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Kaunas $2,241

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,072 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,005 in Kaunas.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Kaunas $3,005

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 18% less than in Kaunas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 9% below, Kaunas is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$11.80 €10.53

-7.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$68.4 €61.1

-34.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$9.90 €8.84

20.40%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$3.46 €3.08

9.83%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$3.33 €2.97

-60.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$3.22 €2.87

-73.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$5.07 €4.52

-36.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$4.36 €3.89

14.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$1.57 €1.40

-7.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$1.79 €1.59

30.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$2.22 €1.98

-35.14%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$3.36 €3.00

-26.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$14.71 €13.13

-47.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$8.13 €7.25

-2.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$13.60 €12.14

-5.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$1.55 €1.38

88.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$1.50 €1.34

-5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$2.17 €1.94

18.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$3.33 €2.97

-35.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$0.94 €0.84

107.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$0.98 €0.87

97.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.83 €1.63

-37.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$0.96 €0.86

27.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$6.14 €5.48

-28.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$10.19 €9.10

-3.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.74 €1.55

-11.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$2.11 €1.89

28.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$1.09 €0.98

-52.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$31.96 €28.52

-14.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$1.14 €1.02

330.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$0.87 €0.77

304.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$15.71 €14.02

-63.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.91 €1.71

-19.37%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$26.9K €24.0K

-21.05%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$28.8K €25.7K

-15.03%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$203 €181

-58.75%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$16.06 €14.34

49.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$15.30 €13.65

91.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$32.92 €29.38

97.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$28.67 €25.59

2.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$11.99 €10.70

-57.55%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$682 €609

-69.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$8,760 €7,818

-53.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$85.7 €76.5

-48.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$40.43 €36.08

4.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$121 €108

-37.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$164 €146

-44.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$627 €560

57.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$438 €391

-12.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$929 €829

84.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$657 €586

68.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$3,679 €3,283

9.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$2,386 €2,130

161.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$1,696 €1,513

-55.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.05

182.72%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kaunas: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Kaunas

$438 30% 13.7% $53

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Kaunas

$280 19.2% 7.7% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Kaunas

$226 15.5% 10.7% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Kaunas

$234 16% 70.9% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Kaunas

$185 12.7% 62.1% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Kaunas

$57 3.9% 24.2% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Kaunas

$42 2.9% 19.6% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $986 in Playa del Carmen and $627 in Kaunas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaunas pays 124% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $45.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $68.0 in Kaunas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $280 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇹 Kaunas

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

15:15 3:15 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

315,993

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kaunas 9,400 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kaunas

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 Kaunas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Kaunas. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 124% lower in Kaunas. 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: $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $627 in Kaunas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $68.0 in Kaunas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,477 in Kaunas – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,477 in Kaunas, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kaunas. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,215 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Kaunas are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Kaunas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.