Last update: Oct 2026
Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and the Maldives
For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,501 in the Maldives, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in the Maldives outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.
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Playa del Carmen Living Index60Cost of Living Index in Playa del CarmenLearn more -
Maldives Living Index72Cost of Living Index in the MaldivesLearn more
😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 24.6% more expensive than the Maldives without rent, and 19% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 14.5% more expensive than the Maldives without rent, and 6.4% cheaper with rent.
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.97 MX$201
$6.54 MVR 101
67.74%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.85 MX$823
$49.62 MVR 765
-9.61%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.92 MX$219
$10.00 MVR 154
19.20%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$4.97 MVR 76.6
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$9.82 MVR 151
-
Cappuccino
$3.80 MX$69.9
$3.27 MVR 50.4
16.21%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 MX$24.08
$1.51 MVR 23.32
-13.25%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.86 MX$15.72
$0.31 MVR 4.81
177.42%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.21 MX$59.0
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Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.01 MX$92.0
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🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 MX$26.77
$1.88 MVR 29.01
-22.34%
White Bread (500g)
$2.33 MX$42.72
$1.56 MVR 24.10
49.36%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.48
$1.04 MVR 16.04
38.46%
Eggs
$2.46 MX$45.20
$1.75 MVR 27.04
40.57%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.70 MX$141
$6.18 MVR 95.4
24.60%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.89 MX$145
$6.75 MVR 104
16.89%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.80 MX$235
$10.03 MVR 155
27.62%
Apples (1kg)
$2.92 MX$53.6
$3.98 MVR 61.3
-26.63%
Banana (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.11
$2.99 MVR 46.12
-52.51%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.57 MX$47.10
$3.88 MVR 59.8
-33.76%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.24
$2.56 MVR 39.48
-16.41%
Potato (1kg)
$1.95 MX$35.75
$1.75 MVR 26.93
11.43%
Onion (1kg)
$1.94 MX$35.55
$1.75 MVR 26.99
10.86%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.13
$2.23 MVR 34.38
-48.43%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 MX$22.42
$0.60 MVR 9.25
103.33%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$11.14 MVR 172
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$2.53 MVR 39.01
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$4.61 MVR 71.1
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.38 MX$80.3
$15.06 MVR 232
-70.92%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.85 MX$181
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 MX$28.23
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 MX$49.86
-
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🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.64
$0.68 MVR 10.51
-23.53%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.42 MX$503
$28.89 MVR 446
-5.09%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.91 MX$90.2
$1.89 MVR 29.15
159.79%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.52 MX$64.7
$1.95 MVR 30.12
80.51%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.69 MX$104
$8.02 MVR 124
-29.05%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 MX$28.27
$0.99 MVR 15.19
55.56%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$389.9K
$31.7K MVR 489.3K
-33.07%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K MX$449.6K
$29.9K MVR 460.5K
-18.00%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.6 MX$1,535
$132 MVR 2,038
-36.74%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$24.03 MX$441
$30.76 MVR 474
-21.88%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.33 MX$539
$68.3 MVR 1,052
-57.03%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$64.9 MX$1,191
$63.4 MVR 978
2.27%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.46 MX$541
$21.44 MVR 331
37.41%
Cinema Ticket
$5.09 MX$93.4
$9.03 MVR 139
-43.63%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$208 MX$3,813
$183 MVR 2,826
13.33%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,045 MX$74.3K
$2,922 MVR 45.1K
38.44%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.55 MX$818
$37.67 MVR 581
18.26%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.06 MX$772
$50.1 MVR 772
-16.03%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.5 MX$1,387
$86.1 MVR 1,327
-12.25%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$91.4 MX$1,678
$51.9 MVR 800
76.12%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$986 MX$18.1K
$911 MVR 14.0K
8.33%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$385 MX$7,072
$672 MVR 10.4K
-42.67%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,713 MX$31.5K
$1,927 MVR 29.7K
-11.09%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,108 MX$20.4K
$1,467 MVR 22.6K
-24.43%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,016 MX$73.7K
$2,641 MVR 40.7K
52.08%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,247 MX$114.7K
$781 MVR 12.0K
699.72%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Maldives
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$758 MX$13.9K
$783 MVR 12.1K
-3.20%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
14
-18.21%
CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.
Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026
Last update for the Maldives: October 5, 2026
Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Share of the monthly basket for a family of three, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen $385 31.4%
Maldives $672 45.5% 74.4% $287
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen $260 21.2%
Maldives $219 14.8% 15.9% $41
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen $204 16.6%
Maldives $129 8.7% 36.8% $75
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen $137 11.2%
Maldives $231 15.7% 68.8% $94
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen $114 9.3%
Maldives $102 6.9% 11% $13
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen $75 6.1%
Maldives $81 5.5% 8.6% $6.4
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen $52 4.2%
Maldives $43 2.9% 16.9% $8.8
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen $1.1K 36.5%
Maldives $1.5K 44.9% 32.3% $358
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen $602 19.8%
Maldives $537 16.4% 10.9% $65
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen $631 20.8%
Maldives $505 15.5% 20% $126
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen $161 5.3%
Maldives $262 8% 62.7% $101
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen $254 8.3%
Maldives $226 6.9% 11% $28
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen $180 5.9%
Maldives $184 5.6% 2.7% $4.9
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen $105 3.5%
Maldives $88 2.7% 16.4% $17
Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇲🇻 Maldives
Weather
Population
149,923
436,330
Exchange rates and currency converter
On the map
Lowest
Highest
Between locations
- Playa del Carmen Maldives 16,540 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight
From you
- Playa del Carmen
- Maldives
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 other spots: cost of living compared
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
Mexico City
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,561
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
Bucharest
🇷🇴 Romania
$1,351
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
Krakow
🇵🇱 Poland
$1,811
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,203
/mo nomad
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