Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Los Cabos

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,433 in Los Cabos, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
Learn more

Los Cabos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,433

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Los Cabos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,433 in Los Cabos.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Los Cabos $1,433

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,236 in Los Cabos.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Los Cabos $2,236

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,039 in Los Cabos.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Los Cabos $3,039

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 16% less than in Los Cabos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Los Cabos is 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$22.25 MX$413

-50.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$43.10 MX$801

0.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$13.63 MX$253

-13.57%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$5.17 MX$96.1

-26.31%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$2.35 MX$43.72

-45.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$1.98 MX$36.76

-60.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$5.07 MX$94.2

-37.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$8.23 MX$153

-40.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.56 MX$28.88

-9.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$2.79 MX$51.9

-20.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$2.27 MX$42.15

-37.44%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.37 MX$44.06

6.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.29 MX$173

-21.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.62 MX$179

-19.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$17.21 MX$320

-26.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$4.00 MX$74.3

-30.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.69 MX$31.33

-18.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$2.88 MX$53.5

-11.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$2.40 MX$44.51

-11.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$2.30 MX$42.64

-15.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$2.54 MX$47.25

-25.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$1.28 MX$23.81

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.79 MX$14.64

49.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$4.43 MX$82.3

-2.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$10.36 MX$192

-3.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.52 MX$28.28

3.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$3.08 MX$57.3

-13.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$1.37 MX$25.45

-59.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$29.56 MX$549

-9.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$2.48 MX$46.13

100.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$1.97 MX$36.58

69.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$10.11 MX$188

-46.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.34 MX$24.96

7.46%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$23.4K MX$434.7K

-11.72%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$23.3K MX$433.1K

0.62%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$56.6 MX$1,050

49.94%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$27.37 MX$508

-14.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$23.83 MX$443

20.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$32.66 MX$607

74.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$19.67 MX$365

46.98%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$4.21 MX$78.1

22.09%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$214 MX$3,967

-3.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$4,525 MX$84.0K

-13.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$91.5 MX$1,699

-52.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$39.53 MX$734

4.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$123 MX$2,290

-39.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$88.9 MX$1,650

0.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$597 MX$11.1K

64.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$438 MX$8,132

-13.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$1,006 MX$18.7K

69.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$741 MX$13.8K

45.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$1,854 MX$34.4K

112.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$1,114 MX$20.7K

452.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

$794 MX$14.7K

-7.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.31

1.24%

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 Los Cabos: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Los Cabos

$438 30.6% 15% $57

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Los Cabos

$304 21.2% 19.5% $50

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Los Cabos

$340 23.7% 68.1% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Los Cabos

$108 7.5% 21.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Los Cabos

$154 10.8% 38.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Los Cabos

$41 2.9% 39% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Los Cabos

$47 3.3% 6.1% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $597 in Los Cabos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Cabos pays 8% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $43 in Los Cabos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $304 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🕒 Local time

02:25 2:25 AM

00:25 12:25 AM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

202,694

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Los Cabos 2,370 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Los Cabos

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 Los Cabos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 16% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $597 in Los Cabos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Los Cabos. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,433 in Los Cabos – Playa del Carmen is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

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