Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Maracaibo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maracaibo: $784 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Maracaibo
Learn more

Maracaibo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Maracaibo

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $784 in Maracaibo.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Maracaibo $784

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,297 in Maracaibo.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Maracaibo $1,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,811 in Maracaibo.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Maracaibo $1,811

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 54% more expensive than in Maracaibo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Maracaibo 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.33 VES 9,159

5.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$39.75 VES 35.2K

9.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$8.77 VES 7,774

34.32%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.75 VES 2,441

38.55%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.15 VES 1,020

11.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.31 VES 1,159

-40.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.21 VES 1,963

43.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.08 VES 2,728

60.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.97 VES 1,744

-28.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$2.11 VES 1,874

5.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.07 VES 953

32.71%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.78 VES 3,350

-33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.55 VES 5,808

10.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.38 VES 5,660

20.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$7.37 VES 6,532

72.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.82 VES 4,277

-42.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.36 VES 1,202

0.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.56 VES 1,385

63.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.36 VES 1,205

55.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.23 VES 1,095

57.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.74 VES 1,543

8.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.02 VES 903

12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.98 VES 1,757

-40.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$2.93 VES 2,597

46.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$9.08 VES 8,054

9.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.09 VES 967

44.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.62 VES 2,325

1.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.47 VES 416

17.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$42.53 VES 37.7K

-37.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.08 VES 3,621

21.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.95 VES 1,729

70.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$17.66 VES 15.7K

-69.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$0.74 VES 657

94.59%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$15.2K VES 13.4M

36.37%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$27.6K VES 24.5M

-14.95%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$62.5 VES 55.4K

35.75%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.45 VES 6,604

214.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$25.27 VES 22.4K

13.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$33.17 VES 29.4K

71.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$28.71 VES 25.5K

0.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$4.89 VES 4,332

5.11%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$148 VES 131.0K

39.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,133 VES 6.3M

-44.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$27.31 VES 24.2K

58.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$32.34 VES 28.7K

28.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$61.9 VES 54.9K

19.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$56.7 VES 50.2K

57.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$159 VES 141.2K

515.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$95.2 VES 84.4K

300.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$301 VES 266.8K

467.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$196 VES 174.0K

447.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$765 VES 678.3K

415.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$508 VES 450.0K

1113.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$215 VES 190.8K

241.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-42.75%

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 Maracaibo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Maracaibo

$95 12.1% 75% $286

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Maracaibo

$243 31% 4.6% $12

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Maracaibo

$169 21.6% 16.5% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Maracaibo

$95 12.1% 30.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Maracaibo

$80 10.2% 28.2% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Maracaibo

$43 5.5% 36.2% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Maracaibo

$58 7.4% 15.4% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $159 in Maracaibo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $40 in Maracaibo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $243 per month, with Maracaibo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇪 Maracaibo

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,000,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, 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).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 887 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 989 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Maracaibo 1,990 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Maracaibo

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 Maracaibo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maracaibo is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 3.4 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $159 in Maracaibo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $148 in Maracaibo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $784 in Maracaibo versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maracaibo but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Maracaibo 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.

It comes down to priorities – Maracaibo 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.