Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and La Moraleja

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,701 in La Moraleja, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in La Moraleja
Learn more

La Moraleja Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

La Moraleja

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,701

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,701 in La Moraleja.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
La Moraleja $1,701

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,508 in La Moraleja.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
La Moraleja $2,508

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,314 in La Moraleja.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
La Moraleja $3,314

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 29% less than in La Moraleja, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, La Moraleja is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$17.12 €15.22

-37.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$67.9 €60.4

-36.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.13 €9.90

5.93%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.04 €1.82

89.71%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$3.34 €2.97

-58.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.96 €1.74

-57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.45 €3.07

-10.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.67 €4.15

8.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.15 €1.02

25.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.02 €0.91

118.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.68 €1.49

-12.50%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.02 €2.69

-16.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$16.89 €15.02

-56.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.09 €8.09

-13.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$17.92 €15.94

-28.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.52 €2.24

15.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.17 €1.93

-33.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.26 €2.01

12.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.54 €2.26

-18.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.10 €1.87

-4.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.09 €1.86

-3.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.59 €1.42

-25.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.57 €0.50

121.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.19 €5.51

-28.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$8.03 €7.14

19.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.08 €0.96

47.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.25 €2.00

24.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.59 €1.41

-64.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$32.63 €29.02

-14.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.79 €3.37

31.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.48 €1.32

136.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$22.86 €20.33

-76.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.73 €1.54

-15.03%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$35.7K €31.8K

-41.28%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$29.1K €25.9K

-17.98%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$192 €171

-56.14%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$18.02 €16.03

33.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$31.22 €27.77

-7.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$45.76 €40.70

37.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$15.50 €13.79

88.00%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$9.98 €8.87

-50.50%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$183 €163

11.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,997 €5,334

-34.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$73.8 €65.7

-40.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$35.65 €31.71

20.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$78.9 €70.2

-3.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$95.3 €84.8

-7.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$903 €803

11.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$686 €610

-45.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,323 €1,177

29.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,008 €896

9.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,304 €2,939

19.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,198 €1,955

180.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$3,628 €3,227

-79.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.08

271.75%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for La Moraleja: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

La Moraleja

$686 40.4% 83.5% $312

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

La Moraleja

$287 16.9% 11.2% $29

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

La Moraleja

$243 14.3% 20% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

La Moraleja

$241 14.2% 75.8% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

La Moraleja

$128 7.5% 13% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

La Moraleja

$66 3.9% 9.8% $7.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

La Moraleja

$50 3% 4.5% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $903 in La Moraleja. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

La Moraleja pays 381% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $68.0 in La Moraleja for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $287 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 La Moraleja

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

10:50 10:50 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

69,176

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen La Moraleja 8,000 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
La Moraleja

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 Moraleja: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and La Moraleja differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $1,701 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 381% lower in La Moraleja. 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $903 in La Moraleja. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $68.0 in La Moraleja. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,701 in La Moraleja – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,701 in La Moraleja, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in La Moraleja. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and La Moraleja are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in La Moraleja. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.