Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mamaia

For one person, living is cheaper in Mamaia: $1,039 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Mamaia
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Mamaia Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Mamaia

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,039

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,039 in Mamaia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Mamaia $1,039

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,585 in Mamaia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mamaia $1,585

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,132 in Mamaia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Mamaia $2,132

Playa del Carmen costs about 16% more than Mamaia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Mamaia are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Mamaia 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.00 RON 47.93

9.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$46.70 RON 224

-7.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.73 RON 37.08

52.39%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.70 RON 12.93

41.11%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.00 RON 9.59

-36.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.71 RON 8.21

-54.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.28 RON 10.95

39.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.69 RON 12.92

83.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.53 RON 7.36

-7.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.25 RON 5.99

77.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.61 RON 7.73

-11.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.33 RON 15.98

-24.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.34 RON 39.99

-12.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.76 RON 32.42

13.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$9.83 RON 47.15

29.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.13 RON 5.43

146.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.57 RON 7.54

-12.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.60 RON 7.66

59.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$2.19 RON 10.51

-3.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.86 RON 4.13

125.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.95 RON 4.58

98.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.89 RON 4.29

29.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.84 RON 4.03

40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$6.03 RON 28.92

-28.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.16 RON 29.56

61.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.06 RON 5.10

49.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.68 RON 8.05

58.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.67 RON 3.22

-17.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$20.09 RON 96.3

32.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.78 RON 3.72

537.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.76 RON 3.63

338.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.75 RON 32.36

-20.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.60 RON 7.67

-10.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$27.6K RON 132.2K

-25.02%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$27.6K RON 132.3K

-14.93%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$145 RON 694

-41.44%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.99 RON 38.32

192.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$9.19 RON 44.09

211.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$41.87 RON 201

36.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$19.21 RON 92.1

50.49%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.03 RON 33.73

-26.88%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$434 RON 2,081

-52.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,018 RON 33.7K

-44.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$67.1 RON 322

-35.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$40.98 RON 197

1.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$74.5 RON 357

-0.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$94.4 RON 453

-5.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$386 RON 1,853

153.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$294 RON 1,410

29.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$585 RON 2,807

191.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$444 RON 2,128

142.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,887 RON 9,050

108.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,480 RON 7,099

315.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.5

76.15%

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 Mamaia: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Mamaia

$294 28.3% 22.8% $87

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Mamaia

$208 20% 18.5% $47

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Mamaia

$167 16.1% 17.4% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Mamaia

$162 15.6% 18.4% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Mamaia

$125 12% 11.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Mamaia

$56 5.4% 16.9% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mamaia

$27 2.6% 45.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $386 in Mamaia. 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 $47 in Mamaia. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $208 in Mamaia – so Mamaia wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Mamaia

🕒 Local time

02:32 2:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

441

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.8 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mamaia 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mamaia

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 Mamaia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,039 in Mamaia – Mamaia comes out roughly 14% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,558 in Mamaia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mamaia, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $386 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 25% less in Mamaia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $434 in Mamaia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,039 in Mamaia, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,039 in Mamaia to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.