Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Magallanes, Cavite

For one person, living is cheaper in Magallanes, Cavite: $713 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Magallanes, Cavite, Philippines
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Magallanes, Cavite
🇵🇭 Philippines
$713
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Magallanes, Cavite

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $713 in Magallanes, Cavite, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Magallanes, Cavite $713

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,080 in Magallanes, Cavite, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Magallanes, Cavite $1,080

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,447 in Magallanes, Cavite, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Magallanes, Cavite $1,447

Playa del Carmen costs about 69% more than Magallanes, Cavite, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Magallanes, Cavite are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Magallanes, Cavite 48% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$203
$3.64 ₱233
200.00%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$808
$14.70 ₱941
195.03%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$219
$2.80 ₱179
320.71%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.0
$1.96 ₱126
94.39%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$23.89
$0.57 ₱36.58
124.56%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.58
$0.29 ₱18.70
168.97%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.0
$1.22 ₱78.0
159.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$91.9
$2.23 ₱143
121.08%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.20
$1.59 ₱102
-11.32%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.30
$1.11 ₱70.8
100.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.40
$0.83 ₱53.4
71.08%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.00
$2.07 ₱132
21.74%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$135
$4.95 ₱316
46.67%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$143
$4.16 ₱266
85.10%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$236
$7.04 ₱451
80.26%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$51.9
$2.60 ₱166
6.92%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.49
$1.53 ₱98.0
-10.46%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.52
$2.39 ₱153
6.69%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.55
$0.99 ₱63.1
114.14%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.11
$2.12 ₱136
-8.49%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.13
$2.53 ₱162
-25.30%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.36
$1.02 ₱65.4
12.75%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$21.96
$0.49 ₱31.47
140.82%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.0
$3.06 ₱196
40.52%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$185
$8.29 ₱531
20.02%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.50
$0.86 ₱55.1
83.72%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$49.76
$2.05 ₱131
30.24%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.31
$0.22 ₱14.29
150.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$496
$12.61 ₱807
111.10%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$92.6
$0.86 ₱55.0
477.91%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.1
$0.25 ₱16.15
1232.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$99.8
$1.89 ₱121
183.60%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$26.90
$1.14 ₱73.3
26.32%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$385.0K
$23.2K ₱1.5M
-11.02%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$437.2K
$18.2K ₱1.2M
29.00%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,580
$107 ₱6,868
-20.99%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$436
$15.05 ₱963
55.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$534
$20.86 ₱1,335
37.39%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,063
$34.97 ₱2,238
63.14%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$539
$5.18 ₱331
458.11%
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$95.7
$5.23 ₱335
-1.72%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,848
$116 ₱7,401
78.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.2K
$8,141 ₱521.0K
-51.76%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$808
$34.42 ₱2,203
25.94%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$772
$21.19 ₱1,356
95.56%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,382
$61.0 ₱3,905
21.58%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,663
$46.67 ₱2,987
91.24%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.2K
$269 ₱17.2K
263.55%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,095
$182 ₱11.6K
109.45%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$31.8K
$535 ₱34.2K
219.48%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.0K
$355 ₱22.7K
203.08%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$73.5K
$2,864 ₱183.3K
37.66%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$114.7K
$1,152 ₱73.7K
434.55%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Magallanes, Cavite
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.7K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
6.92
65.46%

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 Magallanes, Cavite: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Magallanes, Cavite
$182 52.3% $199
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Magallanes, Cavite
$178 30% $76
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Magallanes, Cavite
$75 62.9% $127
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Magallanes, Cavite
$143 4.7% $6.4
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Magallanes, Cavite
$73 34.2% $38
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Magallanes, Cavite
$45 32.5% $22
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Magallanes, Cavite
$16 69% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $269 in Magallanes, Cavite. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $15 in Magallanes, Cavite. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $178 – making Magallanes, Cavite the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇵🇭 Magallanes, Cavite
🕒 Local time
00:27 12:27 AM
13:27 1:27 PM
13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
23,851
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.24 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Magallanes, Cavite 15,090 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Magallanes, Cavite

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 Magallanes, Cavite: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Playa del Carmen or Magallanes, Cavite?
Playa del Carmen costs about 69% more than Magallanes, Cavite, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Playa del Carmen and in Magallanes, Cavite?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,070 in Magallanes, Cavite. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Playa del Carmen or Magallanes, Cavite?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Magallanes, Cavite, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $269 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.
How much does it cost to live in Playa del Carmen compared to Magallanes, Cavite?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $713 in Magallanes, Cavite. That makes Magallanes, Cavite about 41% cheaper.
How expensive is transport in Playa del Carmen compared to Magallanes, Cavite?
Public transport costs about 53% less in Magallanes, Cavite. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Can you live on $800/month in Playa del Carmen or in Magallanes, Cavite?
A $800 monthly budget goes further in Magallanes, Cavite, where all-in costs run around $713, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Magallanes, Cavite it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for families?
Families tend to lean toward Magallanes, Cavite – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
For expats, Magallanes, Cavite is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 41% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.

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