Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and La Merced

For one person, living is cheaper in La Merced: $558 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in La Merced
Learn more

La Merced Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

La Merced

🇵🇪 Peru

$558

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in La Merced

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $558 in La Merced, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
La Merced $558

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $910 in La Merced, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
La Merced $910

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,263 in La Merced, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
La Merced $1,263

Playa del Carmen costs about 115% more than La Merced, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and La Merced are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, La Merced 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$4.38 PEN 15.10

143.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$34.86 PEN 120

25.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.01 PEN 24.19

68.19%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.18 PEN 10.97

19.18%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.08 PEN 3.72

20.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.65 PEN 2.24

27.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.57 PEN 8.86

22.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.29 PEN 14.81

14.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.58 PEN 5.44

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.07 PEN 7.15

6.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.28 PEN 4.43

14.84%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$2.35 PEN 8.11

6.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.33 PEN 25.29

-0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.78 PEN 19.94

37.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$8.68 PEN 29.94

48.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$0.92 PEN 3.17

215.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.45 PEN 1.56

206.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$0.30 PEN 1.04

730.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$0.71 PEN 2.46

185.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$0.28 PEN 0.96

621.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.45 PEN 1.55

322.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.60 PEN 2.07

90.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.87 PEN 3.01

42.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.63 PEN 19.42

-24.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.33 PEN 25.30

33.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.90 PEN 6.56

-16.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.08 PEN 10.61

-10.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.43 PEN 11.84

38.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.07 PEN 7.14

57.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.64 PEN 26.37

-29.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.64 PEN 5.65

-6.71%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.7K PEN 75.0K

-2.47%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$28.9K PEN 99.8K

-19.61%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$66.7 PEN 230

25.27%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$15.80 PEN 54.5

46.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$27.06 PEN 93.4

2.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.14 PEN 24.63

-29.97%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$318 PEN 1,096

-34.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$12.7K PEN 43.6K

-58.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$53.3 PEN 184

-18.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$35.12 PEN 121

21.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$83.7 PEN 289

-13.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$79.1 PEN 273

11.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.78

30.41%

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 La Merced: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

La Merced

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

La Merced

$185 33.1% 28.1% $72

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

La Merced

$123 22% 38.8% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

La Merced

$110 19.6% 18.4% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

La Merced

$113 20.3% 1.6% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

La Merced

$14 * 2.6% 78.5% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

La Merced

$14 * 2.5% 72.7% $37

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $35 in La Merced. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $185 – making La Merced the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇪 La Merced

🕒 Local time

22:12 10:12 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

8,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.258 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.88 PEN (1 PEN = 0.258 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen La Merced 3,530 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
La Merced

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 La Merced: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 115% more than La Merced, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $837 in La Merced. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $558 in La Merced. That makes La Merced about 54% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $318 in La Merced. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in La Merced, where all-in costs run around $558, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In La Merced it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $558 in La Merced to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.