Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Macao

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,158 in Macao, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
Learn more

Macao Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,158

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,158 in Macao.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Macao $2,158

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,053 in Macao.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Macao $3,053

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,948 in Macao.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Macao $3,948

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 44% less than in Macao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Macao is 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.37 MOP 51.5

71.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$55.4 MOP 447

-21.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.76 MOP 46.56

104.51%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$4.97 MOP 40.18

-23.34%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.05 MOP 8.46

21.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.78 MOP 6.33

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$5.66 MOP 45.72

-43.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$7.34 MOP 59.3

-32.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$3.12 MOP 25.18

-54.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.71 MOP 13.78

29.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.72 MOP 13.89

-17.44%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.50 MOP 28.25

-28.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$15.90 MOP 128

-54.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$19.42 MOP 157

-60.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$29.46 MOP 238

-56.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.58 MOP 20.84

7.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.86 MOP 23.08

-52.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.89 MOP 15.24

34.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$2.44 MOP 19.73

-13.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$3.95 MOP 31.94

-50.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$2.94 MOP 23.74

-35.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.62 MOP 5.00

85.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.14 MOP 9.21

3.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$6.64 MOP 53.7

-35.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$12.16 MOP 98.2

-18.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.78 MOP 14.41

-11.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.31 MOP 18.68

15.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.71 MOP 5.76

-22.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$22.93 MOP 185

16.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.66 MOP 21.53

86.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.24 MOP 9.99

168.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$15.00 MOP 121

-64.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.76 MOP 14.21

-18.18%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$31.1K MOP 251.4K

-33.58%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$31.4K MOP 253.5K

-25.21%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$122 MOP 989

-30.70%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$24.02 MOP 194

-2.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$36.91 MOP 298

-22.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$95.6 MOP 772

-40.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$3.64 MOP 29.43

694.23%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$14.43 MOP 117

-64.38%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$1,194 MOP 9,646

-82.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$19.4K MOP 156.7K

-79.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$68.8 MOP 556

-37.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$33.15 MOP 268

25.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$91.5 MOP 739

-18.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$136 MOP 1,095

-34.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,095 MOP 8,850

-10.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$1,065 MOP 8,605

-64.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,089 MOP 16.9K

-18.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,452 MOP 11.7K

-25.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$9,783 MOP 79.0K

-59.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$6,861 MOP 55.4K

-10.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,042 MOP 16.5K

-64.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

281.67%

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 Macao: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Macao

$1.1K 49.4% 180% $684

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Macao

$424 19.6% 66.3% $169

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Macao

$178 8.3% 11.9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Macao

$183 8.5% 33.9% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Macao

$148 6.9% 32.5% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Macao

$124 5.8% 84.9% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Macao

$35 1.6% 31.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,095 in Macao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macao pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $55 in Macao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $424 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇴 Macao

🕒 Local time

15:32 3:32 PM

04:32 4:32 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

622,567 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Macanese Pataca MOP P

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.111 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.02 MOP (1 MOP = 0.111 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Macao 14,750 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Macao

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 Macao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Macao. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $1,095 in Macao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $55 in Macao. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $2,158 in Macao – Playa del Carmen is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,158 in Macao, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Macao. 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.

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