Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Masindi

For one person, living is cheaper in Masindi: $394 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Masindi
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Masindi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Masindi

🇺🇬 Uganda

$394

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $394 in Masindi.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Masindi $394

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $621 in Masindi.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Masindi $621

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $849 in Masindi.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Masindi $849

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 206% more expensive than in Masindi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Masindi 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$2.37 UGX 10.1K

350.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$23.57 UGX 100.7K

85.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.81 UGX 29.1K

73.13%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.46 UGX 10.5K

54.07%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.34 UGX 1,440

282.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.26 UGX 1,119

219.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.20 UGX 5,135

162.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.78 UGX 7,588

176.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.80 UGX 3,439

76.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.81 UGX 3,481

171.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.24 UGX 5,291

18.55%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$1.41 UGX 6,046

77.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$4.09 UGX 17.5K

78.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.32 UGX 18.5K

84.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$4.57 UGX 19.5K

181.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.04 UGX 8,717

42.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.39 UGX 5,958

-0.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$1.20 UGX 5,140

107.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.24 UGX 5,290

63.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.20 UGX 5,109

68.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.25 UGX 5,359

52.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.74 UGX 3,172

54.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.49 UGX 2,098

153.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.31 UGX 9,872

84.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.97 UGX 29.8K

40.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.00 UGX 4,294

59.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.77 UGX 7,574

55.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.49 UGX 2,078

871.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.28 UGX 1,187

1060.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$2.84 UGX 12.1K

89.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.41 UGX 6,019

8.51%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$6,986 UGX 29.9M

203.64%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$6,992 UGX 29.9M

232.71%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$67.4 UGX 288.2K

23.82%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$10.93 UGX 46.7K

112.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$33.25 UGX 142.1K

-16.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.08 UGX 30.3K

-29.38%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$263 UGX 1.1M

-21.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$16.0K UGX 68.4M

-67.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$13.33 UGX 57.0K

225.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$12.33 UGX 52.7K

245.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$30.68 UGX 131.1K

137.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$40.51 UGX 173.1K

118.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

20.75

-44.82%

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 Masindi: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Masindi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Masindi

$141 35.9% 45.1% $116

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Masindi

$81 20.6% 59.6% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Masindi

$112 28.4% 16.9% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Masindi

$44 11.1% 60.8% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Masindi

$14 * 3.6% 78.7% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Masindi

$1.9 * 0.5% 96.3% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $24 in Masindi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $141 per month, with Masindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇬 Masindi

🕒 Local time

18:38 6:38 PM

02:38 2:38 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

94,622

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.34 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4,273 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.34 USD). 1 EUR = 4,811 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Masindi 12,910 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Masindi

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 Masindi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Masindi is about 67% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $590 in Masindi to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $394 in Masindi – Masindi is about 67% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $394 in Masindi versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Masindi but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Masindi 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.