Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Managua

For one person, living is cheaper in Managua: $1,044 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities 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 Managua
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Managua Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Managua

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$1,044

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,044 in Managua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Managua $1,044

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,636 in Managua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Managua $1,636

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,228 in Managua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Managua $2,228

Playa del Carmen costs about 15% more than Managua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Managua are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Managua 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$10.16 NIO 372

7.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.46 NIO 1,262

25.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.59 NIO 278

55.20%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.54 NIO 92.9

50.00%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.87 NIO 31.85

47.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.73 NIO 26.57

6.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.48 NIO 54.0

114.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.24 NIO 82.0

120.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.27 NIO 46.47

11.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$2.30 NIO 84.4

-3.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.83 NIO 67.0

-22.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.43 NIO 89.1

3.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.41 NIO 418

-36.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.52 NIO 239

18.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$8.00 NIO 293

58.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.11 NIO 151

-32.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.63 NIO 22.98

117.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.84 NIO 67.3

38.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.42 NIO 88.8

-12.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$3.97 NIO 146

-51.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.25 NIO 82.4

-16.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.09 NIO 40.02

5.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.05 NIO 38.43

12.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.74 NIO 100

56.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$14.82 NIO 543

-32.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.49 NIO 54.5

6.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.19 NIO 80.3

21.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.14 NIO 5.19

292.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$5.98 NIO 219

345.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.60 NIO 58.7

210.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.61 NIO 59.1

106.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.90 NIO 253

-22.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.37 NIO 50.1

5.11%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$23.2K NIO 849.9K

-10.95%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$26.5K NIO 971.8K

-11.57%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$154 NIO 5,639

-44.93%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$19.66 NIO 720

19.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$33.00 NIO 1,209

-13.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$35.30 NIO 1,293

61.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$15.15 NIO 555

90.83%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$9.07 NIO 332

-43.33%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$232 NIO 8,489

-10.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,944 NIO 217.7K

-33.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$59.7 NIO 2,188

-27.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$64.5 NIO 2,363

-35.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$122 NIO 4,479

-39.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$143 NIO 5,246

-37.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$256 NIO 9,363

283.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$178 NIO 6,504

114.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$443 NIO 16.2K

285.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$379 NIO 13.9K

183.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,183 NIO 43.3K

233.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$683 NIO 25.0K

801.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$421 NIO 15.4K

74.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.92

-3.94%

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 Managua: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Managua

$178 17% 53.4% $203

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Managua

$262 25.1% 2.9% $7.5

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Managua

$153 14.6% 24.5% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Managua

$207 19.8% 51% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Managua

$175 16.8% 57% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Managua

$53 5.1% 20.6% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Managua

$16 1.6% 67.9% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $256 in Managua. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 75% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $34 in Managua. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $262 in Managua – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇮 Managua

🕒 Local time

14:03 2:03 PM

13:03 1:03 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,039,290 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.77 NIO (100 NIO = 2.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Managua 950 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Managua

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 Managua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,044 in Managua – roughly 15% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,566 in Managua. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Managua, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $256 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 78% less in Managua. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $232 in Managua. 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 $1,044 in Managua, 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 $1,044 in Managua to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Managua. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.