Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Manzanillo

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Manzanillo: $1,202 and $1,200 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Manzanillo
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Manzanillo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Manzanillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,200 in Manzanillo.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Manzanillo $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,100 in Manzanillo.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Manzanillo $2,100

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,000 in Manzanillo.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Manzanillo $3,000

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Manzanillo; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Manzanillo 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$10.88 MX$202

-1.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$32.44 MX$604

35.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.92 MX$203

7.97%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.71 MX$69.1

2.16%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.14 MX$21.14

14.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.12 MX$20.81

-25.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.11 MX$39.23

49.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.31 MX$80.2

14.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.51 MX$28.04

-6.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.53 MX$47.10

-13.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.16 MX$21.54

26.72%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$2.07 MX$38.50

20.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.01 MX$149

-8.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.42 MX$101

46.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$9.44 MX$176

36.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.87 MX$53.4

1.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.38 MX$25.67

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$1.73 MX$32.21

43.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.46 MX$27.23

39.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$2.31 MX$42.95

-12.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.65 MX$30.77

15.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.83 MX$34.15

-37.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$1.16 MX$21.53

6.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.31 MX$98.9

-19.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.36 MX$118

54.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.80 MX$33.46

-11.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.44 MX$45.32

12.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.75 MX$13.94

-32.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$2.39 MX$44.54

99.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.48 MX$46.14

31.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.20 MX$153

-34.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.41 MX$26.16

8.51%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$23.9K MX$445.2K

-11.32%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$23.3K MX$434.3K

-0.32%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$64.1 MX$1,193

30.25%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$19.79 MX$368

17.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$28.60 MX$532

-3.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$65.8 MX$1,224

-14.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$31.67 MX$589

-10.99%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$4.34 MX$80.8

15.21%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$162 MX$3,022

27.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$8,458 MX$157.4K

-38.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$42.68 MX$794

1.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$24.94 MX$464

70.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$73.9 MX$1,376

-1.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$114 MX$2,112

-22.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$660 MX$12.3K

50.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$460 MX$8,560

-16.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,531 MX$28.5K

9.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,322 MX$24.6K

-18.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$402 MX$7,485

106.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.3

1.33%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Manzanillo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Manzanillo

$460 38.3% 20.3% $78

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Manzanillo

$228 19% 11.6% $30

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Manzanillo

$193 16.1% 3.9% $7.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Manzanillo

$112 9.4% 16.2% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Manzanillo

$115 9.6% 3.2% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Manzanillo

$74 6.2% 12.1% $8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Manzanillo

$18 * 1.5% 64.7% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $660 in Manzanillo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $32 in Manzanillo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $228 per month, with Manzanillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Manzanillo

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

17:28 5:28 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

159,853

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Manzanillo 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Manzanillo

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 Manzanillo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $660 in Manzanillo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $162 in Manzanillo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Manzanillo gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Manzanillo wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.