Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kretinga

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,261 in Kretinga, rent and utilities included – about $680 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Kretinga outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Kretinga
Learn more

Kretinga Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kretinga

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$1,261

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,261 in Kretinga.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kretinga $1,261

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,981 in Kretinga.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kretinga $1,981

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,702 in Kretinga.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kretinga $2,702

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 5% less than in Kretinga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kretinga 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$12.36 €11.10

-11.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$49.97 €44.89

-13.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.64 €5.97

77.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.17 €2.84

20.19%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.42 €2.18

-47.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.92 €1.73

-59.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$5.70 €5.12

-44.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.57 €4.10

7.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.27 €1.14

11.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.47 €1.32

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.80 €1.61

-21.11%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.87 €2.58

-12.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.23 €9.19

-29.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.57 €5.00

38.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.77 €8.77

29.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.66 €1.49

67.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.42 €1.28

-3.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.71 €1.54

49.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.98 €2.67

-28.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.78 €0.70

148.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.76 €0.69

148.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.47 €1.32

-21.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.81 €0.72

45.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$5.85 €5.25

-26.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$8.20 €7.37

21.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.68 €1.51

-5.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.69 €1.52

57.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.07 €0.96

-48.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$33.60 €30.18

-20.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.99 €2.69

66.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.87 €0.78

282.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$13.43 €12.06

-60.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.88 €1.69

-23.40%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$27.6K €24.8K

-25.11%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$27.6K €24.8K

-15.09%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$201 €180

-57.73%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$13.80 €12.39

69.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$14.30 €12.85

100.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.37 €33.57

52.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$19.98 €17.95

44.69%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$9.03 €8.11

-43.08%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$525 €472

-60.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$9,168 €8,236

-57.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$92.9 €83.5

-53.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$41.70 €37.46

-0.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$82.1 €73.7

-9.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$127 €114

-29.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$641 €576

52.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$345 €310

10.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$731 €657

133.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$716 €643

50.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,127 €2,809

26.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,641 €1,474

275.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,390 €1,248

-47.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.99

186.97%

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 Kretinga: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kretinga

$345 27.4% 9.3% $36

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kretinga

$220 17.5% 13.6% $35

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kretinga

$212 16.8% 4.7% $9.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kretinga

$229 18.1% 67.1% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kretinga

$155 12.3% 38.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kretinga

$55 4.4% 17.6% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kretinga

$45 3.6% 10.4% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $641 in Kretinga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kretinga pays 89% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $50 in Kretinga. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $220, with Kretinga cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇹 Kretinga

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

23:22 11:22 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

19,010

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kretinga 9,200 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kretinga

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 Kretinga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in clothing and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $641 in Kretinga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 21% less than in Kretinga. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $525 in Kretinga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Kretinga on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.