Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Matara

For one person, living is cheaper in Matara: $576 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Matara
Learn more

Matara Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Matara

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$576

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $576 in Matara, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Matara $576

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $839 in Matara, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Matara $839

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,102 in Matara, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Matara $1,102

Playa del Carmen costs about 109% more than Matara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Matara are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Matara 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.73 LKR 1,241

192.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.54 LKR 8,159

76.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.53 LKR 2,503

56.44%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.44 LKR 810

56.15%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.67 LKR 222

91.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.25 LKR 83.1

212.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.23 LKR 741

42.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.06 LKR 1,017

61.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.56 LKR 519

-9.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.53 LKR 177

318.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.76 LKR 253

86.84%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.53 LKR 509

64.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.58 LKR 4,514

-46.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.84 LKR 1,609

59.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.26 LKR 2,415

74.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$6.71 LKR 2,230

-58.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.43 LKR 142

218.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$4.46 LKR 1,481

-42.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$0.91 LKR 302

132.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.92 LKR 306

110.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.58 LKR 193

225.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.89 LKR 295

29.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.46 LKR 151

156.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$9.85 LKR 3,276

-56.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.94 LKR 4,303

-23.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.79 LKR 596

-11.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.00 LKR 997

-11.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.31 LKR 104

77.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.40 LKR 133

1142.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.35 LKR 115

851.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$0.95 LKR 317

464.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.38 LKR 458

4.35%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$44.2K LKR 14.7M

-53.29%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$41.3K LKR 13.7M

-43.24%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$46.17 LKR 15.4K

83.65%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$4.22 LKR 1,403

454.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$20.99 LKR 6,977

36.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.60 LKR 1,530

11.74%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$38.17 LKR 12.7K

441.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$1,204 LKR 400.4K

226.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$18.04 LKR 5,997

140.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$16.90 LKR 5,618

145.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$78.9 LKR 26.2K

-5.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$41.70 LKR 13.9K

114.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$179 LKR 59.6K

446.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$90.1 LKR 30.0K

322.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$105 LKR 34.8K

602.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.69

-9.77%

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 Matara: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Matara

$90 15.7% 76.3% $291

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Matara

$229 39.8% 10.1% $26

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Matara

$103 17.8% 49.3% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Matara

$71 12.4% 47.8% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Matara

$70 12.2% 37.3% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Matara

$9.2 * 1.6% 86.3% $58

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Matara

$3.4 * 0.6% 93.3% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $179 in Matara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $25 in Matara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $229 – making Matara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Matara

🕒 Local time

16:51 4:51 PM

03:21 3:21 AM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

100,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Matara 16,770 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Matara

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 Matara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 109%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $864 in Matara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $179 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $576 in Matara. That makes Matara about 52% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $38 in Matara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Matara, where all-in costs run around $576, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Matara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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