Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Las Terrenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Las Terrenas: $872 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Las Terrenas
Learn more

Las Terrenas Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Las Terrenas

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$872

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $872 in Las Terrenas.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Las Terrenas $872

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,839 in Las Terrenas.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Las Terrenas $1,839

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,805 in Las Terrenas.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Las Terrenas $2,805

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 38% more expensive than in Las Terrenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Las Terrenas 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$8.51 DOP 511

25.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$41.42 DOP 2,488

5.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.91 DOP 295

140.12%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$0.98 DOP 59.0

286.73%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.67 DOP 40.51

94.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.40 DOP 24.16

107.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.44 DOP 146

29.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.04 DOP 243

22.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.02 DOP 61.4

38.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.08 DOP 64.8

103.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.12 DOP 67.1

31.25%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.23 DOP 73.8

103.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$6.44 DOP 387

13.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.57 DOP 214

122.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$4.64 DOP 279

177.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.14 DOP 129

35.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.64 DOP 38.27

115.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.22 DOP 133

12.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.18 DOP 131

-6.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$2.14 DOP 128

-5.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.13 DOP 67.7

68.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.92 DOP 55.4

23.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.02 DOP 61.2

21.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.68 DOP 281

-8.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.91 DOP 415

41.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.31 DOP 139

-31.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.96 DOP 118

40.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$2.53 DOP 152

88.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$3.37 DOP 202

-3.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.17 DOP 70.5

30.77%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$19.8K DOP 1.2M

7.11%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$23.6K DOP 1.4M

-1.57%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$50.0 DOP 3,005

66.85%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.97 DOP 599

132.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$19.68 DOP 1,182

40.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$4.90 DOP 294

2.04%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$100 DOP 6,017

106.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$5,396 DOP 324.1K

-3.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$27.31 DOP 1,640

59.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$44.60 DOP 2,679

-4.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$60.9 DOP 3,656

19.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$65.1 DOP 3,910

35.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$788 DOP 47.3K

26.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$385 DOP 23.1K

-0.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,678 DOP 100.8K

-0.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,632 DOP 98.0K

-33.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,809 DOP 108.6K

116.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$405 DOP 24.3K

105.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Las Terrenas: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Las Terrenas

$385 44.2% 0.8% $2.9

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Las Terrenas

$170 19.5% 34.1% $88

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Las Terrenas

$119 13.7% 40.5% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Las Terrenas

$80 9.1% 40.7% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Las Terrenas

$89 10.2% 19.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Las Terrenas

$9.8 * 1.1% 85.2% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Las Terrenas

$19 * 2.2% 61.6% $31

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 $995 in Playa del Carmen and $788 in Las Terrenas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $41 in Las Terrenas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $170 per month, with Las Terrenas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇴 Las Terrenas

🕒 Local time

14:15 2:15 PM

15:15 3:15 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,713

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

100 DOP = 1.67 USD

100 DOP = 1.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 60.06 DOP (100 DOP = 1.67 USD). 1 EUR = 67.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.49 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Las Terrenas 1,840 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Las Terrenas

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 Terrenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Las Terrenas wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Las Terrenas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $788 in Las Terrenas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $100 in Las Terrenas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Las Terrenas – a meal for two runs $41 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Las Terrenas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Las Terrenas is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Las Terrenas wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.