Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kohima

For one person, living is cheaper in Kohima: $355 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Kohima
Learn more

Kohima Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kohima

🇮🇳 India

$355

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $355 in Kohima.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kohima $355

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $567 in Kohima.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kohima $567

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $780 in Kohima.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kohima $780

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 239% more expensive than in Kohima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kohima 74% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.28 ₹217

378.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$9.15 ₹869

373.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$3.70 ₹351

218.38%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$1.61 ₹152

136.65%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.40 ₹38.22

220.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.11 ₹10.87

609.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.29 ₹122

145.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.50 ₹332

40.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$0.65 ₹61.8

116.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.40 ₹38.14

455.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$0.55 ₹52.6

158.18%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$0.81 ₹76.7

211.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$2.76 ₹262

163.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.42 ₹325

125.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.20 ₹209

26.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$0.71 ₹67.1

92.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$0.90 ₹85.1

183.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$0.62 ₹58.8

241.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.33 ₹31.45

487.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.37 ₹35.39

410.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.31 ₹29.35

270.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.27 ₹25.63

337.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.15 ₹204

100.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.01 ₹666

41.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.65 ₹157

-4.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.49 ₹236

7.23%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.09 ₹294

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.23 ₹21.95

139.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$7.05 ₹670

277.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$0.68 ₹64.9

630.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.28 ₹26.27

1089.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.33 ₹126

303.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.04 ₹99.0

38.46%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$11.3K ₹1.1M

82.60%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$16.2K ₹1.5M

44.62%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$35.38 ₹3,359

139.66%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$3.30 ₹314

609.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$6.27 ₹595

357.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$14.06 ₹1,335

305.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$7.22 ₹686

300.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$3.22 ₹306

59.63%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$28.01 ₹2,659

637.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$2,253 ₹213.9K

74.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$17.12 ₹1,626

153.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$30.61 ₹2,907

35.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$38.02 ₹3,610

95.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$27.14 ₹2,577

228.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$119 ₹11.3K

722.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$68.0 ₹6,457

460.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$284 ₹26.9K

501.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$169 ₹16.1K

535.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$916 ₹87.0K

330.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$491 ₹46.6K

1153.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$204 ₹19.4K

259.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.38

55.15%

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 Kohima: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kohima

$68 19.2% 82.1% $313

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kohima

$97 27.2% 62% $158

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kohima

$64 18.1% 68.3% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kohima

$45 12.7% 67.2% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kohima

$51 14.3% 54.5% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kohima

$21 5.8% 69.5% $47

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kohima

$10 2.8% 80.1% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $119 in Kohima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $9 in Kohima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $97 per month, with Kohima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇳 Kohima

🕒 Local time

19:59 7:59 PM

06:29 6:29 AM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

115,283

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kohima 14,870 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kohima

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 Kohima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kohima is about 71% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 3.6 times higher, 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 $119 in Kohima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kohima – a meal for two runs $9 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $355 in Kohima – Kohima is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $355 in Kohima versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kohima but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kohima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Kohima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.