Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mataro

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,844 in Mataro, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Mataro
Learn more

Mataro Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Mataro

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,844 in Mataro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Mataro $1,844

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,696 in Mataro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mataro $2,696

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,548 in Mataro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Mataro $3,548

Playa del Carmen is about 35% cheaper than Mataro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Mataro is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$16.70 €14.96

-34.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$56.6 €50.7

-23.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$13.34 €11.96

-11.69%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.04 €1.83

86.76%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.33 €2.09

-45.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.89 €1.69

-58.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$4.01 €3.59

-20.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.40 €3.04

45.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.23 €1.11

14.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.08 €1.86

6.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.48 €1.33

-4.05%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.99 €3.58

-36.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$17.04 €15.27

-57.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$9.27 €8.31

-16.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$19.59 €17.56

-35.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.64 €2.36

5.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.96 €1.76

-30.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.69 €2.41

-5.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.86 €2.56

-25.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$2.07 €1.86

-6.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.28 €2.04

-17.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.52 €1.36

-24.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.88 €0.79

34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$6.35 €5.69

-32.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$5.64 €5.05

76.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.10 €0.99

43.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.29 €2.05

16.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$2.54 €2.28

-78.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$34.37 €30.80

-22.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$2.30 €2.06

116.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.07 €0.96

211.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$29.06 €26.04

-81.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.74 €1.56

-17.24%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$32.3K €28.9K

-36.03%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$32.0K €28.7K

-26.74%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$184 €165

-53.96%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$12.18 €10.92

92.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$29.34 €26.29

-2.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$60.8 €54.5

-6.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$13.76 €12.33

110.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$10.81 €9.68

-52.45%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$500 €448

-58.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$7,830 €7,017

-49.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$87.1 €78.0

-50.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$39.89 €35.75

3.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$96.9 €86.8

-23.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$114 €102

-21.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$940 €842

4.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$780 €699

-51.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,333 €1,195

28.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,172 €1,050

-8.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$3,286 €2,944

20.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$2,846 €2,551

116.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,861 €1,668

-60.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.28

249.09%

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 Mataro: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Mataro

$780 42.3% 105% $399

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Mataro

$310 16.8% 21.7% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Mataro

$242 13.1% 19.5% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Mataro

$226 12.2% 64.9% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Mataro

$152 8.2% 36% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Mataro

$82 4.5% 22.4% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mataro

$52 2.8% 3.4% $1.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $940 in Mataro. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mataro are about 2.5 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 $57 in Mataro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $310 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Mataro

🕒 Local time

20:30 8:30 PM

02:30 2:30 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

129,870

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mataro 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mataro

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 Mataro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,844 in Mataro – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 35% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,766 in Mataro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $980 in Playa del Carmen and $940 in Mataro. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Public transport costs about 23% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $500 in Mataro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Mataro at $1,844. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mataro 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,844 in Mataro. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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