Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Maltepe

For one person, living is cheaper in Maltepe: $988 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Maltepe, Turkey
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Maltepe
🇹🇷 Turkey
$988
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $988 in Maltepe, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Maltepe $988

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,541 in Maltepe, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Maltepe $1,541

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,094 in Maltepe, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Maltepe $2,094

Playa del Carmen costs about 22% more than Maltepe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Playa del Carmen and Maltepe are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Maltepe 27% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$204
$9.86 ₺491
10.75%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$808
$29.96 ₺1,493
44.76%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$220
$7.43 ₺370
58.55%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.0
$3.72 ₺186
2.42%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$23.90
$1.05 ₺52.3
21.90%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.59
$0.37 ₺18.62
110.81%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.0
$2.27 ₺113
39.65%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$92.0
$2.94 ₺147
67.69%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.22
$0.99 ₺49.35
42.42%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.33
$0.75 ₺37.46
196.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.42
$2.28 ₺114
-37.72%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.03
$2.33 ₺116
8.15%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$135
$10.23 ₺510
-29.03%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$143
$5.05 ₺251
52.48%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$237
$18.97 ₺946
-33.10%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$51.9
$1.66 ₺82.9
67.47%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.50
$1.90 ₺94.9
-27.89%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.55
$1.05 ₺52.5
142.86%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.58
$1.25 ₺62.1
69.60%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.13
$0.62 ₺30.73
212.90%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.16
$0.39 ₺19.49
384.62%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.37
$0.76 ₺37.70
51.32%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$21.98
$0.59 ₺29.37
100.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.1
$2.09 ₺104
105.74%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$185
$12.94 ₺645
-23.11%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.52
$1.99 ₺99.3
-20.60%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$49.79
$2.18 ₺109
22.48%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.31
$0.69 ₺34.38
-20.29%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$496
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$92.6
$1.03 ₺51.2
382.52%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.1
$0.89 ₺44.44
274.16%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$99.8
$6.78 ₺338
-20.94%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$26.92
$1.34 ₺67.0
7.46%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$385.2K
$44.4K ₺2.2M
-53.48%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$437.4K
$40.3K ₺2.0M
-41.80%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,581
$75.1 ₺3,744
12.86%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$436
$10.92 ₺544
114.38%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$534
$14.44 ₺720
98.48%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,063
$53.2 ₺2,652
7.20%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$539
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$95.8
$6.08 ₺303
-15.46%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,851
$619 ₺30.8K
-66.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.2K
$11.1K ₺551.0K
-64.48%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$808
$44.01 ₺2,193
-1.50%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$772
$34.48 ₺1,718
20.19%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,383
$80.8 ₺4,027
-8.17%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,664
$90.9 ₺4,532
-1.86%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.3K
$412 ₺20.5K
137.84%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,099
$301 ₺15.0K
26.67%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$31.8K
$780 ₺38.9K
119.04%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.0K
$560 ₺27.9K
92.12%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$73.5K
$1,408 ₺70.2K
180.01%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$114.8K
$1,009 ₺50.3K
510.03%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Maltepe
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.7K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
40.69
-71.86%

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 Maltepe: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Maltepe
$301 21.1% $80
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Maltepe
$232 9% $23
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Maltepe
$169 16.6% $34
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Maltepe
$100 26.6% $36
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Maltepe
$113 0.8% $0.9
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Maltepe
$65 2.9% $1.9
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Maltepe
$8.3 * 83.6% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $412 in Maltepe. 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 $30 in Maltepe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $232 – making Maltepe the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇹🇷 Maltepe
🕒 Local time
09:57 9:57 AM
17:57 5:57 PM
8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
523,137
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.46 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Maltepe 10,530 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Maltepe

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 Maltepe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Maltepe cheaper than Playa del Carmen?
Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 22%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,482 in Maltepe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Maltepe, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $412 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.
Is eating out cheaper in Playa del Carmen or in Maltepe?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $30 in Maltepe. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Playa del Carmen and in Maltepe?
Groceries cost about 10% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Is it better to live in Playa del Carmen or in Maltepe?
It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $988 in Maltepe to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?