Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lushnje

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Lushnje: $1,202 and $1,191 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Lushnje
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Lushnje Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lushnje

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,191 in Lushnje.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Lushnje $1,191

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,855 in Lushnje.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lushnje $1,855

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,519 in Lushnje.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Lushnje $2,519

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Lushnje; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Lushnje 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$10.11 ALL 819

5.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$55.5 ALL 4,499

-21.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.98 ALL 890

7.38%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.25 ALL 183

68.44%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.39 ALL 194

-45.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.31 ALL 106

-36.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.61 ALL 292

-12.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.19 ALL 340

17.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.17 ALL 175

-35.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.19 ALL 96.6

84.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.45 ALL 198

-40.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.82 ALL 309

-34.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$12.72 ALL 1,030

-42.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$8.99 ALL 728

-11.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$16.85 ALL 1,365

-23.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.92 ALL 156

51.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.42 ALL 196

-42.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.23 ALL 180

11.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.83 ALL 148

10.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.02 ALL 82.4

98.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.32 ALL 107

43.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.52 ALL 123

-25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.81 ALL 65.5

53.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.86 ALL 393

-12.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$10.63 ALL 861

-7.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.59 ALL 129

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.05 ALL 166

34.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.51 ALL 41.20

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$19.83 ALL 1,606

38.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.75 ALL 304

26.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$3.74 ALL 303

-13.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$18.90 ALL 1,531

-71.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.43 ALL 197

-37.04%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

-36.08%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$29.7K ALL 2.4M

-21.77%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$101 ALL 8,193

-17.44%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$18.78 ALL 1,522

23.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$19.86 ALL 1,608

39.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$56.5 ALL 4,580

-0.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.79 ALL 793

-48.93%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$353 ALL 28.6K

-41.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$8,330 ALL 674.8K

-37.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$49.90 ALL 4,042

-12.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$48.72 ALL 3,947

-12.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$120 ALL 9,733

-39.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$113 ALL 9,180

-22.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$491 ALL 39.8K

102.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$310 ALL 25.1K

23.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$711 ALL 57.6K

135.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$473 ALL 38.3K

128.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,937 ALL 156.9K

101.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,323 ALL 107.2K

364.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$614 ALL 49.7K

35.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.16

121.90%

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 Lushnje: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Lushnje

$310 26% 18.9% $72

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Lushnje

$289 24.3% 12.4% $32

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Lushnje

$182 15.3% 9.1% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Lushnje

$140 11.7% 4.1% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Lushnje

$149 12.6% 34.4% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Lushnje

$76 6.4% 14.6% $9.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lushnje

$44 3.7% 12.2% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $491 in Lushnje. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 36% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $56 in Lushnje for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $289 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇱 Lushnje

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

15:03 3:03 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

31,105

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 81.01 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.7 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lushnje 9,840 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lushnje

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 Lushnje: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 36% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $491 in Lushnje. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $353 in Lushnje. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $56 in Lushnje. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lushnje is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 – Lushnje 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.