Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Leova

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,341 in Leova, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Leova outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Leova
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Leova Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Leova

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,341 in Leova.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Leova $1,341

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,057 in Leova.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Leova $2,057

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,773 in Leova.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Leova $2,773

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 10% less than in Leova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$10.31 MDL 184

5.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$33.24 MDL 594

30.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$8.94 MDL 160

31.77%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$0.81 MDL 14.57

370.37%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.49 MDL 8.72

161.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.40 MDL 7.23

95.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.48 MDL 44.42

27.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.64 MDL 47.13

86.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.69 MDL 30.16

-16.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.47 MDL 26.27

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.38 MDL 24.63

2.90%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.36 MDL 24.39

85.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.70 MDL 245

-47.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.29 MDL 41.01

236.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$4.03 MDL 72.0

214.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.28 MDL 22.86

117.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.86 MDL 15.35

59.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$0.94 MDL 16.78

171.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.09 MDL 19.46

94.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.52 MDL 27.23

27.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.53 MDL 9.52

256.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.46 MDL 8.29

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.98 MDL 17.56

20.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.41 MDL 78.9

-2.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$14.81 MDL 265

-32.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.13 MDL 20.23

39.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.67 MDL 47.75

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.37 MDL 6.70

48.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$27.71 MDL 495

-3.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.72 MDL 48.62

82.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.54 MDL 9.58

516.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$3.42 MDL 61.2

56.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.35 MDL 24.13

6.67%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$34.1K MDL 609.5K

-39.38%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$34.0K MDL 607.0K

-30.88%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$184 MDL 3,285

-53.86%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$5.51 MDL 98.6

324.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$20.70 MDL 370

38.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$83.2 MDL 1,488

-31.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$11.26 MDL 201

156.75%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.52 MDL 80.8

13.72%

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

$207 MX$3,851

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$83.7 MDL 1,496

-48.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$54.4 MDL 972

-23.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$95.4 MDL 1,705

-22.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$110 MDL 1,965

-18.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$641 MDL 11.5K

52.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$521 MDL 9,320

-26.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,506 MDL 26.9K

13.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,086 MDL 19.4K

-1.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,489 MDL 44.5K

58.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,885 MDL 33.7K

226.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$653 MDL 11.7K

12.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.19

59.25%

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 Leova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Leova

$521 38.9% 36.9% $140

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Leova

$188 14% 26.3% $67

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Leova

$140 10.5% 30.7% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Leova

$210 15.7% 53.4% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Leova

$154 11.5% 38.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Leova

$92 6.9% 37.1% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Leova

$35 2.6% 31.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $641 in Leova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $33 in Leova for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $188 per month, with Leova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇩 Leova

🕒 Local time

13:04 1:04 PM

20:04 8:04 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

10,900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 MDL = 5.59 USD

100 MDL = 5.02 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 17.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 19.9 MDL (100 MDL = 5.02 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Leova 10,140 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Leova

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 Leova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $641 in Leova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Leova pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,341 in Leova – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen 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.