Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lipari

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,717 in Lipari, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Lipari
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Lipari Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lipari

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,717

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,717 in Lipari.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Lipari $1,717

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,668 in Lipari.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lipari $2,668

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,618 in Lipari.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Lipari $3,618

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 30% less than in Lipari, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Lipari is 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$18.07 €16.09

-40.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$73.7 €65.6

-40.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$9.89 €8.81

19.21%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$2.55 €2.27

48.63%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$3.11 €2.77

-58.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$1.41 €1.26

-41.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$5.55 €4.94

-43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.88 €4.35

1.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$1.58 €1.41

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$2.18 €1.94

0.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$2.92 €2.60

-49.66%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$4.32 €3.85

-42.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$16.68 €14.86

-56.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$11.71 €10.43

-32.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$22.27 €19.83

-42.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$2.57 €2.29

12.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$2.12 €1.88

-34.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$2.66 €2.37

-6.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$3.03 €2.70

-33.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$2.10 €1.87

-3.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$1.78 €1.59

6.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$1.36 €1.21

-16.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$0.58 €0.52

113.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$7.25 €6.46

-41.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$7.07 €6.29

38.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$1.72 €1.53

-7.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$2.51 €2.23

9.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$2.01 €1.79

-74.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$38.39 €34.18

-28.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$4.65 €4.14

2.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$1.62 €1.44

100.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$31.31 €27.88

-82.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$2.78 €2.48

-44.96%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$37.2K €33.1K

-42.95%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$34.2K €30.4K

-31.94%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$206 €183

-59.41%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$10.34 €9.21

124.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$27.32 €24.33

1.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$55.5 €49.44

1.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$25.18 €22.42

11.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$9.88 €8.79

-49.39%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$508 €453

-59.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$11.5K €10.2K

-54.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$102 €90.8

-57.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$34.07 €30.33

24.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$84.9 €75.6

-14.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$139 €124

-36.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$731 €651

35.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$574 €511

-33.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$1,179 €1,049

42.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$994 €885

8.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$3,358 €2,990

16.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$2,156 €1,920

184.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.31

245.92%

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 Lipari: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Lipari

$574 33.4% 50% $191

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Lipari

$343 20% 33.4% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Lipari

$260 15.2% 30% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Lipari

$243 14.2% 81.2% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Lipari

$162 9.4% 45.7% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Lipari

$75 4.4% 13.3% $8.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lipari

$59 3.5% 17.3% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $731 in Lipari. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $74 in Lipari for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $343 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇹 Lipari

🕒 Local time

03:24 3:24 AM

09:24 9:24 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

12,675

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lipari 9,580 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lipari

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 Lipari: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,717 in Lipari, so Playa del Carmen is about 30% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $2,576 in Lipari to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $731 in Lipari. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,717 in Lipari – Playa del Carmen is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 29% less than in Lipari. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,717 in Lipari, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lipari. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.