Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Masvingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Masvingo: $617 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Masvingo
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Masvingo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Masvingo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$617

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $617 in Masvingo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Masvingo $617

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,025 in Masvingo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Masvingo $1,025

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,432 in Masvingo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Masvingo $1,432

Playa del Carmen costs about 95% more than Masvingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Playa del Carmen and Masvingo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Masvingo 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$12.56 ZWL 334

-15.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$45.86 ZWL 1,218

-4.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$5.62 ZWL 149

109.79%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.04 ZWL 80.8

24.67%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.84 ZWL 22.40

54.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.42 ZWL 11.23

97.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.23 ZWL 32.77

156.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.99 ZWL 52.8

147.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.52 ZWL 40.35

-7.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.99 ZWL 26.23

122.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.60 ZWL 42.47

-8.13%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.94 ZWL 51.4

28.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$11.56 ZWL 307

-36.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.50 ZWL 146

44.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.89 ZWL 183

86.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.17 ZWL 84.1

-8.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.69 ZWL 44.92

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.07 ZWL 54.9

20.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.56 ZWL 41.46

30.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.70 ZWL 45.14

18.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.53 ZWL 40.51

24.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.29 ZWL 34.23

-11.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.98 ZWL 26.16

26.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$1.79 ZWL 47.66

138.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$8.31 ZWL 221

18.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.36 ZWL 36.17

16.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.86 ZWL 49.48

47.85%

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

$4.03 ZWL 107

18.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.95 ZWL 51.7

66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$4.93 ZWL 131

9.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.80 ZWL 47.71

-15.00%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.8K ZWL 580.1K

-2.87%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$27.4K ZWL 728.1K

-15.14%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$50.7 ZWL 1,346

64.74%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$21.61 ZWL 574

7.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$71.6 ZWL 1,902

-61.44%

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

$9.96 ZWL 265

-49.80%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$420 ZWL 11.2K

-50.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$16.9K ZWL 447.7K

-68.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$21.66 ZWL 575

100.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$20.40 ZWL 542

108.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$36.83 ZWL 978

97.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$40.69 ZWL 1,081

117.20%

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

13.69

-16.36%

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 Masvingo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Masvingo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Masvingo

$216 35.1% 15.9% $41

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Masvingo

$169 27.4% 15.6% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Masvingo

$144 23.3% 7.2% $9.6

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Masvingo

$54 8.7% 51.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Masvingo

$20 * 3.2% 70% $47

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Masvingo

$14 * 2.2% 72.7% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $46 in Masvingo. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $216 in Masvingo – so Masvingo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇼 Masvingo

🕒 Local time

11:16 11:16 AM

18:16 6:16 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

72,527

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.77 USD

100 ZWL = 3.35 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 26.56 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.77 USD). 1 EUR = 29.85 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.35 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Masvingo 13,580 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Masvingo

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 Masvingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $617 in Masvingo – Masvingo comes out roughly 49% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $925 in Masvingo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $617 in Masvingo. That makes Masvingo about 49% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $420 in Masvingo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Masvingo, where all-in costs run around $617, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Masvingo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $617 in Masvingo to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.