Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kelachay

For one person, living is cheaper in Kelachay: $536 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Kelachay
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Kelachay Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Kelachay

🇮🇷 Iran

$536

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $536 in Kelachay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Kelachay $536

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $847 in Kelachay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kelachay $847

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,157 in Kelachay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Kelachay $1,157

Playa del Carmen costs about 124% more than Kelachay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kelachay are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Kelachay 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$3.03 $3.03

252.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$16.31 $16.31

168.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$4.06 $4.06

190.39%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.67 $0.67

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 $1.06

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$1.08 $1.08

250.93%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$0.51 $0.51

154.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$1.02 $1.02

-18.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$0.68 $0.68

107.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$0.49 $0.49

348.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$2.03 $2.03

-27.59%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$1.20 $1.20

108.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$4.48 $4.48

62.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$3.43 $3.43

131.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$10.41 $10.41

23.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$1.07 $1.07

171.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$1.55 $1.55

-10.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$0.87 $0.87

186.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$0.61 $0.61

232.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$0.57 $0.57

254.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$0.47 $0.47

304.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$0.53 $0.53

115.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$0.26 $0.26

376.92%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.83 $0.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 $0.52

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 $1.33

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$2.44 $2.44

75.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$0.14 $0.14

264.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$9.41 $9.41

191.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$0.39 $0.39

1120.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$0.29 $0.29

1020.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$2.66 $2.66

102.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$0.09 $0.09

1600.00%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$51.0K $51.0K

-58.38%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$45.7K $45.7K

-49.07%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$12.96 $12.96

544.21%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$1.60 $1.60

1349.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$4.02 $4.02

586.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$18.90 $18.90

198.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$13.24 $13.24

112.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$2.02 $2.02

147.52%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$107 $107

93.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$2,365 $2,365

121.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$22.80 $22.80

90.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$28.23 $28.23

50.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$98.0 $98.0

-25.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$71.2 $71.2

24.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$286 $286

247.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$212 $212

80.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$811 $811

106.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$358 $358

201.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$1,139 $1,139

243.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$536 $536

1046.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

24.3

-52.88%

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 Kelachay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Kelachay

$212 39.6% 44.5% $170

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Kelachay

$116 21.6% 55.1% $142

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Kelachay

$56 10.4% 72.2% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Kelachay

$19 3.5% 86.2% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Kelachay

$99 18.5% 10.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Kelachay

$23 4.3% 65.5% $43

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kelachay

$12 2.2% 76.6% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $286 in Kelachay. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $16 in Kelachay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $116 – making Kelachay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇷 Kelachay

🕒 Local time

04:24 4:24 AM

12:54 12:54 PM

8 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

12,379

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

USD USD

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kelachay 12,200 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kelachay

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 Kelachay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 124%, 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 $804 in Kelachay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kelachay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $286 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 66% less in Kelachay. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $107 in Kelachay. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kelachay, where all-in costs run around $536, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Kelachay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

For expats, Kelachay is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 55% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.