Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lapithos

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,830 in Lapithos, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
84

Cost of Living Index in Lapithos
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Lapithos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lapithos

🇨🇾 Cyprus

$1,830

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,830 in Lapithos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lapithos $1,830

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,769 in Lapithos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lapithos $2,769

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,708 in Lapithos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Lapithos $3,708

Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper than Lapithos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Lapithos is 34% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$22.26 €19.94

-50.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$69.1 €61.9

-37.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$9.33 €8.36

26.26%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.85 €3.45

-1.04%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.88 €1.69

-31.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.83 €0.74

-6.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.25 €2.02

40.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$5.18 €4.64

-4.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.37 €1.23

2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.33 €1.19

66.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.20 €1.97

-35.45%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.61 €2.34

-3.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.96 €8.93

-27.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.01 €6.28

9.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$13.92 €12.47

-8.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.33 €2.09

19.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.94 €1.74

-29.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.45 €1.30

75.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.54 €2.28

-16.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.70 €1.52

14.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.40 €1.26

35.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.71 €0.64

61.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.02 €0.92

15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$2.34 €2.10

83.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.30 €4.75

87.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.63 €1.46

-3.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.20 €1.97

21.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.18 €1.96

-74.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$47.71 €42.76

-44.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.50 €4.04

10.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.20 €1.98

51.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$13.39 €11.99

-59.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.61 €1.45

-10.56%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$31.0K €27.8K

-33.39%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$31.3K €28.0K

-25.02%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$175 €157

-51.62%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$20.83 €18.67

12.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$23.46 €21.02

22.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$73.6 €65.9

-22.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$23.80 €21.33

21.47%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$12.37 €11.08

-58.45%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$388 €347

-46.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,154 €7,307

-51.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$56.9 €51.0

-23.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$43.82 €39.26

-5.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$109 €97.5

-31.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$117 €105

-23.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$701 €628

39.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$768 €688

-50.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,568 €1,405

8.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,267 €1,136

-15.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,721 €3,334

5.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$2,142 €1,919

187.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.27

250.15%

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 Lapithos: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Lapithos

$768 42% 102% $387

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Lapithos

$241 13.2% 5.5% $14

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Lapithos

$285 15.6% 40.7% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lapithos

$220 12% 60.4% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lapithos

$147 8% 31.5% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Lapithos

$98 5.4% 46% $31

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lapithos

$72 3.9% 42.7% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $701 in Lapithos. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $69 in Lapithos. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $241 in Lapithos – so Lapithos wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇾 Lapithos

🕒 Local time

00:26 12:26 AM

07:26 7:26 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,215

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lapithos 11,170 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lapithos

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 Lapithos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lapithos is pricier by about 52%, 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 $2,745 in Lapithos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lapithos, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $701 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,830 in Lapithos. That makes Playa del Carmen about 34% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 44% 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 Lapithos at $1,830. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lapithos 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,830 in Lapithos. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.