Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $520 in Machakos.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Machakos $520

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $802 in Machakos.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Machakos $802

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,084 in Machakos.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Machakos $1,084

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 132% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Machakos 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.99 KES 389

265.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$19.26 KES 2,500

125.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.26 KES 812

88.18%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$1.97 KES 255

93.40%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.66 KES 85.4

93.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.54 KES 69.6

44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.16 KES 281

46.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$2.67 KES 346

84.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$0.39 KES 50.9

261.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.48 KES 62.7

362.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$0.80 KES 104

77.50%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.36 KES 177

85.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.89 KES 1,413

-33.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.36 KES 826

21.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$4.71 KES 612

169.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.50 KES 195

85.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$0.81 KES 105

69.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$0.37 KES 47.49

589.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$0.40 KES 51.6

430.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.79 KES 102

145.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.76 KES 98.6

148.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.75 KES 97.6

53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.39 KES 51.1

202.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.51 KES 455

22.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$11.31 KES 1,468

-12.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.91 KES 248

-17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.70 KES 351

-1.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$0.74 KES 96.4

571.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.75 KES 97.8

344.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$2.86 KES 371

87.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.50 KES 195

-4.00%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$19.1K KES 2.5M

8.08%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$21.7K KES 2.8M

8.00%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$57.0 KES 7,396

48.81%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$7.83 KES 1,017

198.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$11.58 KES 1,503

147.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$38.98 KES 5,060

46.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$7.66 KES 994

-32.90%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$45.51 KES 5,907

353.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-68.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$11.62 KES 1,509

273.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$28.49 KES 3,698

45.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$68.8 KES 8,923

7.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$38.19 KES 4,956

133.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$94.2 KES 12.2K

940.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$70.4 KES 9,132

441.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$155 KES 20.1K

1003.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$116 KES 15.1K

823.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$385 KES 50.0K

90.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.71

-22.16%

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 Machakos: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Machakos

$70 13.5% 81.5% $310

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Machakos

$161 31% 36.8% $94

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Machakos

$87 16.8% 56.9% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Machakos

$76 14.7% 44.2% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Machakos

$66 12.7% 40.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Machakos

$54 10.4% 19.3% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9% 91.1% $46

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $94 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 91% 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 $19 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $161 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

20:36 8:36 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

114,109

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Machakos 13,620 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 57% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 91% 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $94 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Playa del Carmen. 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 $520 in Machakos – Machakos is about 57% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $520 in Machakos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos 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 – Machakos 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.