Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Legazpi

For one person, living is cheaper in Legazpi: $843 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Legazpi
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Legazpi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Legazpi

🇵🇭 Philippines

$843

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $843 in Legazpi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Legazpi $843

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,251 in Legazpi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Legazpi $1,251

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,658 in Legazpi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Legazpi $1,658

Playa del Carmen costs about 43% more than Legazpi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Legazpi are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Legazpi 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$3.50 ₱222

204.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$23.09 ₱1,463

89.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$3.73 ₱236

216.09%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$2.05 ₱130

84.88%

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

$1.30 MX$24.09

$0.72 ₱45.39

80.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.48

$0.36 ₱23.05

130.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$1.20 ₱76.3

162.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$2.32 ₱147

112.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.54 ₱97.5

-8.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.77

$0.96 ₱60.6

129.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.35

$0.99 ₱62.5

48.48%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.37

$1.93 ₱122

29.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$5.33 ₱338

36.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.81 ₱242

108.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.94 ₱440

85.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$2.53 ₱161

14.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.69

$1.96 ₱124

-29.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.26

$2.57 ₱163

-3.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.70

$0.89 ₱56.6

128.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.61

$1.69 ₱107

19.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$1.66 ₱105

14.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.25

$0.82 ₱51.9

39.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.01

$0.52 ₱32.97

138.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$2.98 ₱189

43.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$6.08 ₱386

61.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.45

$1.20 ₱76.0

32.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$1.66 ₱105

65.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$0.40 ₱25.55

27.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

$13.34 ₱845

105.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$0.79 ₱49.97

502.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$0.22 ₱13.90

1377.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.85 ₱117

191.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.38

$1.21 ₱76.6

26.45%

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

$21.2K MX$393.9K

$20.4K ₱1.3M

4.11%

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

$23.3K MX$432.0K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

19.93%

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

$83.5 MX$1,550

$120 ₱7,602

-30.39%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$17.18 ₱1,089

34.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$513

$24.95 ₱1,581

10.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,048

$30.64 ₱1,942

84.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.9

$4.47 ₱284

11.86%

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

$207 MX$3,846

$285 ₱18.1K

-27.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$8,361 ₱530.0K

-37.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$807

$51.6 ₱3,270

-15.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$790

$30.77 ₱1,950

38.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,351

$72.5 ₱4,594

0.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,641

$52.5 ₱3,329

68.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$421 ₱26.7K

136.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,102

$282 ₱17.9K

35.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$818 ₱51.9K

104.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$485 ₱30.7K

122.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.6K

$3,451 ₱218.7K

13.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.0K

$2,356 ₱149.3K

160.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

63.57%

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 Legazpi: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Legazpi

$282 33.4% 26.3% $101

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Legazpi

$171 20.3% 33.5% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Legazpi

$79 9.3% 60.7% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Legazpi

$162 19.2% 20.7% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Legazpi

$93 11.1% 16.1% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Legazpi

$40 4.7% 40.4% $27

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Legazpi

$17 2% 66.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $421 in Legazpi. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Legazpi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $171 – making Legazpi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Legazpi

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

19:50 7:50 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

209,533

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 63.38 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Legazpi 14,970 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Legazpi

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 Legazpi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $843 in Legazpi – Legazpi comes out roughly 30% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,265 in Legazpi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Legazpi, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $421 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $843 in Legazpi. That makes Legazpi about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 51% less in Legazpi. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Legazpi, where all-in costs run around $843, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Legazpi 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 $843 in Legazpi to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Legazpi is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 30% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.