Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mataram

For one person, living is cheaper in Mataram: $605 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Mataram
Learn more

Mataram Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Mataram

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$605

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $605 in Mataram.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Mataram $605

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $977 in Mataram.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mataram $977

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,348 in Mataram.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Mataram $1,348

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 99% more expensive than in Mataram, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Mataram 56% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$1.00 Rp 18.1K

992.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$8.82 Rp 160.3K

391.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$3.24 Rp 58.9K

263.58%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.53 Rp 27.8K

149.02%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.46 Rp 8,370

178.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.30 Rp 5,406

160.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.68 Rp 48.7K

18.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.36 Rp 61.1K

46.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.37 Rp 25.0K

2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.47 Rp 26.7K

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.84 Rp 15.3K

69.05%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.39 Rp 25.3K

81.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.07 Rp 146.7K

-10.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.85 Rp 51.8K

170.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.47 Rp 135.8K

69.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.06 Rp 37.4K

34.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.18 Rp 21.4K

16.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.53 Rp 27.8K

66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.24 Rp 22.5K

70.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.26 Rp 23.0K

53.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.17 Rp 39.5K

-12.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.79 Rp 14.4K

45.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.39 Rp 7,128

202.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.60 Rp 47.3K

65.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$21.31 Rp 387.3K

-53.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.82 Rp 33.1K

-13.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.12 Rp 56.7K

-14.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.21 Rp 3,820

161.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$11.53 Rp 209.6K

130.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.49 Rp 8,924

914.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.37 Rp 6,646

800.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.80 Rp 50.9K

91.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.57 Rp 10.3K

152.63%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$22.9K Rp 416.6M

-9.84%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$29.7K Rp 540.3M

-21.07%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$57.9 Rp 1.1M

46.42%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$3.75 Rp 68.1K

524.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$18.52 Rp 336.6K

54.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$18.47 Rp 335.6K

208.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.43 Rp 135.0K

289.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$2.73 Rp 49.6K

88.28%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$98.6 Rp 1.8M

109.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,614 Rp 156.6M

-54.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$40.36 Rp 733.6K

7.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$28.06 Rp 510.0K

47.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$74.8 Rp 1.4M

-0.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$69.9 Rp 1.3M

27.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$228 Rp 4.1M

329.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$130 Rp 2.4M

193.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$516 Rp 9.4M

231.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$371 Rp 6.7M

189.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,170 Rp 21.3M

237.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$752 Rp 13.7M

718.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$217 Rp 3.9M

239.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.46

21.04%

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 Mataram: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Mataram

$130 21.4% 65.9% $251

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Mataram

$202 33.4% 20.8% $53

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Mataram

$59 9.8% 70.8% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Mataram

$80 13.2% 41.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Mataram

$96 15.8% 14.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Mataram

$24 4% 64.5% $43

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mataram

$15 2.4% 70.9% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $228 in Mataram. 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 $9 in Mataram for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $202 per month, with Mataram cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇩 Mataram

🕒 Local time

10:01 10:01 AM

23:01 11:01 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

402,843

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, 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).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,228 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mataram 17,190 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mataram

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 Mataram: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Mataram differ by about 99% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $605 including rent). Mataram is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

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 $228 in Mataram. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Mataram – a meal for two runs $9 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $605 in Mataram versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Mataram but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Mataram 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.

Expats usually find Mataram gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.