Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Las Pinas

For one person, living is cheaper in Las Pinas: $733 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Las Pinas
Learn more

Las Pinas Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Las Pinas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Las Pinas

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $733 in Las Pinas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Las Pinas $733

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,142 in Las Pinas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Las Pinas $1,142

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,551 in Las Pinas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Las Pinas $1,551

Playa del Carmen costs about 65% more than Las Pinas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Las Pinas are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Las Pinas 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$4.04 ₱254

166.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$23.49 ₱1,479

83.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$2.74 ₱173

330.29%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.84 ₱116

110.33%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.12 ₱70.7

22.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.43 ₱27.38

95.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.17 ₱73.7

164.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.42 ₱153

109.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.68 ₱106

-14.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.13 ₱70.8

97.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.97 ₱61.3

51.55%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.02 ₱127

25.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$4.98 ₱314

46.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$3.45 ₱217

127.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$6.91 ₱435

85.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.20 ₱138

31.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.59 ₱100

-9.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.44 ₱153

4.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.06 ₱67.0

94.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.76 ₱111

13.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.71 ₱107

17.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.65 ₱41.02

83.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.49 ₱30.83

157.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.00 ₱189

46.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$9.39 ₱591

2.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.93 ₱58.3

70.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.06 ₱130

36.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.20 ₱12.59

185.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$12.31 ₱775

126.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.80 ₱50.2

522.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.23 ₱14.51

1421.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$1.87 ₱118

188.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.22 ₱76.6

20.49%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$21.1K ₱1.3M

-0.53%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

23.24%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$124 ₱7,809

-32.11%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$14.80 ₱932

62.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$24.00 ₱1,511

20.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$32.08 ₱2,020

96.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$3.99 ₱251

630.33%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.10 ₱321

-3.14%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$132 ₱8,336

53.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$8,801 ₱554.1K

-55.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$33.07 ₱2,082

31.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$19.83 ₱1,249

117.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$71.7 ₱4,516

5.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$56.7 ₱3,570

56.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$279 ₱17.6K

261.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$178 ₱11.2K

109.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$516 ₱32.5K

230.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$395 ₱24.9K

180.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,392 ₱150.6K

64.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$987 ₱62.1K

525.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$605 ₱38.1K

24.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.75

69.63%

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 Las Pinas: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Las Pinas

$178 24.4% 52.3% $196

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Las Pinas

$173 23.6% 33% $85

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Las Pinas

$80 10.9% 60.7% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Las Pinas

$163 22.2% 18.7% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Las Pinas

$82 11.1% 27.8% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Las Pinas

$42 5.8% 42% $31

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Las Pinas

$15 2.1% 71.3% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $279 in Las Pinas. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 25% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $23.00 in Las Pinas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $173 – making Las Pinas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Las Pinas

🕒 Local time

15:14 3:14 PM

04:14 4:14 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

606,293

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Las Pinas 15,050 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Las Pinas

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 Las Pinas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $733 in Las Pinas – roughly 65% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,099 in Las Pinas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Las Pinas, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $23.00 in Las Pinas. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $733 in Las Pinas. That's a gap of about 65%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Las Pinas, where all-in costs run around $733, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Las Pinas 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 $733 in Las Pinas to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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