Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Maldonado

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,368 in Maldonado, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. The total is higher in Maldonado despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Maldonado
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Maldonado Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Maldonado

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,368 in Maldonado.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Maldonado $1,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,178 in Maldonado.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Maldonado $2,178

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,988 in Maldonado.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Maldonado $2,988

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 12% less than in Maldonado, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Maldonado is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$14.87 UYU 597

-26.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$54.9 UYU 2,202

-19.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$13.91 UYU 558

-15.46%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.57 UYU 183

-19.47%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.65 UYU 106

-49.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$2.10 UYU 84.2

-60.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.95 UYU 118

3.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.62 UYU 145

36.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.13 UYU 45.19

30.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.70 UYU 109

-17.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.77 UYU 71.1

-16.38%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.98 UYU 160

-37.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$14.11 UYU 566

-46.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$11.31 UYU 454

-29.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.61 UYU 466

8.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.79 UYU 112

-0.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.14 UYU 86.0

-33.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.75 UYU 70.2

49.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.15 UYU 126

-32.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.00 UYU 80.2

1.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.00 UYU 80.4

-0.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.43 UYU 57.4

-20.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.95 UYU 78.3

-38.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$5.51 UYU 221

-22.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$8.13 UYU 326

23.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.32 UYU 93.3

-33.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.71 UYU 109

-1.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.41 UYU 56.8

-62.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$48.89 UYU 1,962

-43.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.40 UYU 136

44.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.44 UYU 17.53

679.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$10.25 UYU 411

-47.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.24 UYU 89.9

-35.27%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$26.6K UYU 1.1M

-20.54%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$37.0K UYU 1.5M

-37.75%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$116 UYU 4,644

-26.22%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$19.18 UYU 770

22.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$45.04 UYU 1,808

-36.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$48.23 UYU 1,936

28.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$30.20 UYU 1,212

-5.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$12.05 UYU 484

-57.68%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$496 UYU 19.9K

-59.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$6,515 UYU 261.5K

-39.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$90.3 UYU 3,625

-50.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$37.34 UYU 1,498

10.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$125 UYU 5,014

-41.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$118 UYU 4,729

-23.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$426 UYU 17.1K

129.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$315 UYU 12.7K

18.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$919 UYU 36.9K

82.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$601 UYU 24.1K

82.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,803 UYU 112.5K

40.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,541 UYU 61.8K

298.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$1,014 UYU 40.7K

-27.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

129.00%

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 Maldonado: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Maldonado

$315 23.1% 15.4% $57

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Maldonado

$317 23.2% 22.7% $59

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Maldonado

$257 18.8% 28.1% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Maldonado

$180 13.2% 31.1% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Maldonado

$167 12.2% 49.3% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Maldonado

$72 5.3% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Maldonado

$60 4.4% 16.3% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $426 in Maldonado. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Maldonado pays 37% 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: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $55.0 in Maldonado for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $317 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇾 Maldonado

🕒 Local time

03:58 3:58 AM

05:58 5:58 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

62,592

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Maldonado 7,050 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Maldonado

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 Maldonado: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Maldonado differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,368 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 37% lower in Maldonado. 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $426 in Maldonado. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $496 in Maldonado. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Maldonado. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,368 in Maldonado, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Maldonado. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Maldonado are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Maldonado. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.