Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lake Macquarie

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,218 in Lake Macquarie, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Lake Macquarie
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Lake Macquarie Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lake Macquarie

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,218

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Lake Macquarie

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,218 in Lake Macquarie, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lake Macquarie $2,218

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,563 in Lake Macquarie, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lake Macquarie $3,563

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,907 in Lake Macquarie, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Lake Macquarie $4,907

Playa del Carmen is about 46% cheaper than Lake Macquarie, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Lake Macquarie is 63% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$17.44 A$24.79

-37.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$84.6 A$120

-48.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.50 A$14.92

12.19%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.52 A$5.00

8.24%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$3.15 A$4.47

-59.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.04 A$2.90

-61.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$7.20 A$10.23

-55.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$6.91 A$9.81

-28.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.15 A$1.64

22.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.50 A$2.13

48.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.59 A$2.26

-10.69%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.26 A$4.64

-22.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.87 A$11.18

-7.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.47 A$10.62

3.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$12.54 A$17.82

1.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.95 A$4.19

-5.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.56 A$3.64

-46.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.56 A$3.64

-0.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$3.76 A$5.34

-43.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.38 A$3.38

-18.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.06 A$2.92

-8.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.70 A$2.42

-32.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.55 A$2.20

-23.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$29.27 A$41.59

-85.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$8.38 A$11.90

18.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.89 A$4.11

-45.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.28 A$3.25

17.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.68 A$3.81

-79.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$82.9 A$118

-67.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.02 A$2.87

146.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.18 A$4.52

4.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$58.4 A$83.0

-90.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.34 A$1.90

7.46%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$28.4K A$40.3K

-27.15%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$24.3K A$34.5K

-3.37%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$236 A$335

-64.08%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$11.39 A$16.19

105.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$41.79 A$59.4

-31.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$55.7 A$79.1

2.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$18.12 A$25.75

59.55%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$9.57 A$13.59

-46.29%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$1,489 A$2,115

-86.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$18.6K A$26.4K

-78.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$70.3 A$99.9

-38.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$37.06 A$52.7

11.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$98.5 A$140

-24.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$111 A$158

-19.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,380 A$1,961

-29.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$1,040 A$1,478

-63.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,288 A$3,251

-25.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,267 A$3,222

-52.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$5,477 A$7,782

-28.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$5,415 A$7,694

13.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$5,072 A$7,207

-85.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.35

163.22%

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 Lake Macquarie: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Lake Macquarie

$1K 46.9% 173% $659

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Lake Macquarie

$276 12.5% 8.4% $21

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Lake Macquarie

$284 12.8% 40.3% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lake Macquarie

$289 13% 111% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lake Macquarie

$143 6.4% 27.8% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Lake Macquarie

$75 3.4% 11.1% $7.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lake Macquarie

$112 5% 121% $61

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,380 in Lake Macquarie. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lake Macquarie are about 6.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $85 in Lake Macquarie. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $276 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Lake Macquarie

🕒 Local time

20:26 8:26 PM

12:26 12:26 PM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,059

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lake Macquarie 14,110 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lake Macquarie

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 Lake Macquarie: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lake Macquarie is pricier by about 84%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,327 in Lake Macquarie. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,380 in Lake Macquarie.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,218 in Lake Macquarie. That makes Playa del Carmen about 46% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 68% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Lake Macquarie at $2,218. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lake Macquarie it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lake Macquarie makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.