Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kempton Park

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Kempton Park: $1,204 and $1,231 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Kempton Park
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Kempton Park Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kempton Park

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,231

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Kempton Park

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,231 in Kempton Park.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kempton Park $1,231

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,889 in Kempton Park.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kempton Park $1,889

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,547 in Kempton Park.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kempton Park $2,547

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Kempton Park; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kempton Park 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$9.01 R 150

21.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$37.26 R 619

16.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$5.98 R 99.4

96.99%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.42 R 40.22

57.44%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.04 R 17.20

23.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.81 R 13.53

-3.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.47 R 41.00

28.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.82 R 46.87

74.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.36 R 22.66

3.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.10 R 18.19

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.82 R 30.28

-21.98%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.53 R 42.00

-0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.51 R 141

-14.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.30 R 88.0

45.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$9.17 R 152

38.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.87 R 31.12

48.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.73 R 28.82

-20.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.77 R 29.36

44.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.98 R 32.88

7.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.74 R 28.86

11.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.76 R 29.22

7.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.24 R 20.52

-7.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.29 R 21.42

-8.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$3.38 R 56.1

27.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.30 R 88.0

87.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.66 R 27.55

-4.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.42 R 40.17

10.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.56 R 25.96

-64.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$61.1 R 1,014

-56.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.31 R 5.15

1503.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.82 R 13.63

306.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$14.51 R 241

-63.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.55 R 25.76

-7.10%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$36.3K R 603.0K

-43.07%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$34.1K R 566.8K

-31.24%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$182 R 3,023

-53.41%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$39.32 R 653

-40.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$38.46 R 639

-25.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$38.63 R 642

47.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$11.06 R 184

161.39%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$8.46 R 141

-39.24%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$263 R 4,370

-21.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,524 R 91.8K

-28.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$53.5 R 888

-18.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$33.01 R 548

25.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$91.9 R 1,526

-19.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$84.1 R 1,398

6.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$306 R 5,088

219.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$370 R 6,153

2.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$750 R 12.5K

127.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$750 R 12.5K

43.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$862 R 14.3K

357.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$690 R 11.5K

792.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$630 R 10.5K

16.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.25

1.78%

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 Kempton Park: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kempton Park

$370 30.1% 2.7% $10

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kempton Park

$211 17.2% 17.1% $44

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kempton Park

$144 11.7% 28.6% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kempton Park

$260 21.1% 89.8% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kempton Park

$118 9.6% 5.7% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kempton Park

$56 4.5% 17.5% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kempton Park

$72 5.8% 42.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $306 in Kempton Park. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 17% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $37 in Kempton Park for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $211 per month, with Kempton Park cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Kempton Park

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

05:09 5:09 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kempton Park 13,450 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kempton Park

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 Kempton Park: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 17% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $306 in Kempton Park. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $263 in Kempton Park. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kempton Park – a meal for two runs $37 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.