Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lanus

For one person, living is cheaper in Lanus: $1,083 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Lanus
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Lanus Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lanus

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,083

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,083 in Lanus.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lanus $1,083

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,867 in Lanus.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lanus $1,867

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,651 in Lanus.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Lanus $2,651

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 11% more expensive than in Lanus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Lanus 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

8.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$38.23 ARS 58.8K

13.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$12.86 ARS 19.8K

-8.40%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.89 ARS 5,980

-2.06%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.05 ARS 3,152

-37.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.70 ARS 2,609

-54.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.94 ARS 6,059

-19.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.29 ARS 3,518

115.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.29 ARS 1,990

9.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$2.63 ARS 4,045

-15.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.66 ARS 2,551

-14.46%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.53 ARS 3,899

-0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.90 ARS 10.6K

5.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.06 ARS 13.9K

-15.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$13.24 ARS 20.4K

-4.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.82 ARS 4,336

-1.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.04 ARS 3,136

-32.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.05 ARS 1,620

142.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.76 ARS 2,713

20.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.93 ARS 1,430

108.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.64 ARS 982

195.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.64 ARS 2,515

-29.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.72 ARS 2,646

-31.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.21 ARS 4,941

33.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.49 ARS 8,438

81.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.53 ARS 2,354

3.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.78 ARS 4,272

-3.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.95 ARS 1,468

-42.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.63 ARS 2,513

204.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.02 ARS 1,567

226.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.14 ARS 12.5K

-34.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.10 ARS 1,688

30.91%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$23.8K ARS 36.6M

-13.08%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$30.3K ARS 46.6M

-22.56%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$60.8 ARS 93.5K

39.53%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$19.90 ARS 30.6K

17.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$27.26 ARS 41.9K

5.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$31.53 ARS 48.5K

80.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$19.01 ARS 29.2K

52.08%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.83 ARS 7,434

6.42%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$232 ARS 357.4K

-11.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$4,127 ARS 6.3M

-4.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$36.34 ARS 55.9K

19.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$59.3 ARS 91.2K

-30.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$117 ARS 179.9K

-36.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$102 ARS 156.8K

-12.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$582 ARS 895.1K

68.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$320 ARS 492.9K

18.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,017 ARS 1.6M

68.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$897 ARS 1.4M

19.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,214 ARS 1.9M

407.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

57.25

-80.00%

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 Lanus: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Lanus

$320 29.6% 15.9% $60

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Lanus

$257 23.7% 0.7% $1.8

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Lanus

$205 18.9% 1.4% $2.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lanus

$108 10% 21.1% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lanus

$142 13.1% 26.7% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Lanus

$41 3.8% 38.8% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lanus

$11 * 1% 79.1% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $582 in Lanus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $38 in Lanus. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $257, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇷 Lanus

🕒 Local time

15:33 3:33 PM

17:33 5:33 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

459,263

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR 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).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lanus 6,860 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lanus

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 Lanus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lanus is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,625 in Lanus to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $582 in Lanus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lanus – a meal for two runs $38 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $232 in Lanus. 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 Lanus 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.