Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kawasaki

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,476 in Kawasaki, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
71

Cost of Living Index in Kawasaki
Learn more

Kawasaki Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kawasaki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,476

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,476 in Kawasaki, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kawasaki $1,476

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,239 in Kawasaki, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kawasaki $2,239

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,003 in Kawasaki, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kawasaki $3,003

Playa del Carmen is about 18% cheaper than Kawasaki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Kawasaki is 8% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$7.43 ¥1,172

46.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$37.97 ¥5,988

14.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.99 ¥786

136.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.59 ¥408

47.10%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.57 ¥248

-18.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.91 ¥144

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$3.23 ¥509

-1.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.13 ¥493

57.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.51 ¥238

-6.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.56 ¥246

42.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$4.21 ¥664

-66.27%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.15 ¥339

17.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$11.44 ¥1,804

-36.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.72 ¥1,059

14.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$16.41 ¥2,588

-22.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$6.02 ¥950

-53.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.85 ¥450

-51.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$4.99 ¥786

-48.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$5.18 ¥817

-59.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.40 ¥536

-42.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$3.09 ¥487

-38.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.19 ¥188

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.78 ¥122

51.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.97 ¥625

8.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.29 ¥1,464

7.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.39 ¥377

-33.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.65 ¥418

0.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.92 ¥303

-71.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$50.5 ¥7,956

-47.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.10 ¥489

60.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$3.20 ¥505

4.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$18.58 ¥2,929

-71.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.07 ¥169

34.58%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$22.1K ¥3.5M

-6.56%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

52.82%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$129 ¥20.3K

-34.03%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$23.08 ¥3,639

1.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$31.16 ¥4,913

-8.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$55.8 ¥8,799

2.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$6.47 ¥1,020

346.83%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$12.62 ¥1,991

-59.27%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$695 ¥109.6K

-70.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

-73.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$51.2 ¥8,073

-15.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$33.12 ¥5,222

25.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$66.4 ¥10.5K

11.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$70.4 ¥11.1K

26.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$771 ¥121.6K

27.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$565 ¥89.1K

-32.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,281 ¥201.9K

33.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,006 ¥158.7K

6.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$4,670 ¥736.4K

-15.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$3,220 ¥507.8K

91.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,608 ¥411.2K

-71.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.02

466.83%

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 Kawasaki: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kawasaki

$565 38.3% 48.3% $184

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kawasaki

$333 22.5% 30.6% $78

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kawasaki

$138 9.3% 31.9% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kawasaki

$183 12.4% 33.5% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kawasaki

$99 6.7% 10.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kawasaki

$81 5.5% 20.4% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kawasaki

$77 5.2% 53.2% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $771 in Kawasaki. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Kawasaki are about 3.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in Kawasaki. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $333 in Kawasaki – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Kawasaki

🕒 Local time

05:44 5:44 AM

19:44 7:44 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,538,262

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Kawasaki 12,060 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kawasaki

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 Kawasaki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kawasaki costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $2,214 in Kawasaki. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kawasaki, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $771 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $38 in Kawasaki. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,476 in Kawasaki. That makes Playa del Carmen about 18% cheaper.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,476 in Kawasaki. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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