Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Madona

For one person, living is cheaper in Madona: $1,128 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $910 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Madona
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Madona Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Madona

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,128

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,128 in Madona, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Madona $1,128

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,730 in Madona, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Madona $1,730

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,331 in Madona, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Madona $2,331

Playa del Carmen costs about 7% more than Madona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Madona are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Madona 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$16.87 €15.00

-35.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$66.8 €59.4

-33.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$9.28 €8.25

26.72%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.75 €3.33

-1.87%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.57 €1.40

-14.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.20 €1.06

-31.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$5.60 €4.98

-45.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.91 €4.37

0.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.20 €1.07

22.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.48 €1.32

50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.48 €2.21

-40.32%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.60 €3.20

-30.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.34 €9.20

-27.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.48 €7.54

-6.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$13.57 €12.07

-7.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.09 €1.86

33.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.77 €1.57

-19.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.49 €2.21

5.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.21 €2.85

-33.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.82 €0.73

146.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.90 €0.80

121.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.74 €1.55

-34.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.87 €0.78

37.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.85 €6.09

-37.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.64 €6.79

31.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.02 €1.80

-23.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.09 €1.86

27.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.42 €3.05

43.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.98 €0.87

250.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$17.80 €15.83

-69.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.08 €1.85

-30.29%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$26.9K €23.9K

-21.25%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$30.3K €27.0K

-24.05%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$365 €325

-76.62%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$19.58 €17.42

19.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$19.97 €17.76

42.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$28.19 €25.07

120.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.53 €4.92

-7.78%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$668 €594

-69.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$17.9K €15.9K

-77.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$69.9 €62.2

-36.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$51.0 €45.37

-18.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$86.8 €77.2

-16.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$138 €123

-35.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.77

140.04%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Madona: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Madona

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Madona

$264 23.4% 2% $5.2

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Madona

$257 22.8% 28.2% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Madona

$405 35.9% 195% $267

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Madona

$155 13.8% 39.3% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Madona

$39 3.5% 45.8% $33

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Madona

$8.3 * 0.7% 83.9% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $67.0 in Madona. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $264 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇻 Madona

🕒 Local time

19:52 7:52 PM

03:52 3:52 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Madona 9,420 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
Madona

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 Madona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 7%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,692 in Madona. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $67.0 in Madona. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 2% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Madona, where all-in costs run around $1,128, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Madona it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Madona – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Madona. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.