Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Maasin City

For one person, living is cheaper in Maasin City: $731 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Maasin City
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Maasin City Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Maasin City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$731

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Maasin City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $731 in Maasin City.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Maasin City $731

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,126 in Maasin City.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Maasin City $1,126

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,521 in Maasin City.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Maasin City $1,521

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 64% more expensive than in Maasin City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Maasin City 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.94 ₱251

170.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$23.11 ₱1,469

89.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$3.86 ₱245

205.44%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.53 ₱161

49.80%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.63 ₱39.98

106.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.50 ₱31.81

66.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.67 ₱106

88.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.14 ₱136

130.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.89 ₱120

-25.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.13 ₱71.9

94.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.82 ₱52.0

79.27%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$1.83 ₱117

36.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$4.76 ₱303

53.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.30 ₱273

84.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.42 ₱472

73.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.54 ₱97.7

88.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.61 ₱38.80

126.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$1.60 ₱102

55.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.52 ₱96.3

33.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$2.36 ₱150

-14.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.95 ₱124

-2.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.10 ₱70.1

3.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.59 ₱37.46

110.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.82 ₱179

51.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.17 ₱392

59.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.21 ₱76.6

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.65 ₱105

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.24 ₱15.27

112.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$12.16 ₱773

125.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.75 ₱47.56

534.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.20 ₱12.70

1525.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.86 ₱118

189.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.36 ₱86.7

12.50%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$20.7K ₱1.3M

2.70%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

23.15%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$119 ₱7,566

-29.84%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$15.32 ₱974

51.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$27.59 ₱1,754

0.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$31.54 ₱2,005

78.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$5.33 ₱339

428.89%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.54 ₱352

-9.75%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$132 ₱8,362

57.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$7,821 ₱497.3K

-33.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$32.36 ₱2,058

34.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$19.28 ₱1,226

120.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$75.8 ₱4,820

-4.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$57.8 ₱3,677

52.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$253 ₱16.1K

293.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$170 ₱10.8K

125.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$480 ₱30.5K

248.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$351 ₱22.3K

207.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,608 ₱165.8K

49.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,117 ₱71.0K

449.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$125 ₱7,923

567.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.2

59.03%

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 Maasin City: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Maasin City

$170 23.2% 55.6% $213

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Maasin City

$168 23% 34.6% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Maasin City

$91 12.4% 54.8% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Maasin City

$162 22.1% 20.6% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Maasin City

$83 11.4% 25% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Maasin City

$43 5.8% 35.9% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Maasin City

$15 2% 70.5% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $253 in Maasin City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 6.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $23 in Maasin City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $168 per month, with Maasin City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Maasin City

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

07:36 7:36 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

85,560

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.57 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Maasin City 15,130 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Maasin City

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 Maasin City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maasin City is about 39% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 6.7 times higher, 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 $253 in Maasin City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Maasin City – a meal for two runs $23 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $731 in Maasin City versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maasin City but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Maasin City 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.

Expats usually find Maasin City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.