Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Matera

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,484 in Matera, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 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
71

Cost of Living Index in Matera
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Matera Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Matera

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,484

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,484 in Matera, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Matera $1,484

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,356 in Matera, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Matera $2,356

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,227 in Matera, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Matera $3,227

Playa del Carmen is about 19% cheaper than Matera, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Matera is 9% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$15.29 €13.70

-28.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$60.7 €54.3

-28.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$11.34 €10.16

3.88%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$1.88 €1.68

102.66%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.27 €2.03

-43.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$1.09 €0.97

-28.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$5.74 €5.14

-44.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.31 €2.97

48.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.58 €1.41

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.72 €1.54

29.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$3.28 €2.94

-56.71%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.52 €3.15

-28.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$15.39 €13.79

-52.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$12.28 €11.00

-37.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$20.84 €18.67

-39.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.63 €2.36

5.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.16 €1.94

-36.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.13 €1.01

125.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$3.80 €3.41

-44.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.78 €1.60

8.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.64 €1.47

15.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.46 €1.31

-21.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.47 €0.42

151.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$6.75 €6.05

-36.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$6.34 €5.68

56.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.84 €1.65

-14.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$3.11 €2.79

-14.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$1.72 €1.54

-68.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$20.20 €18.09

31.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$4.43 €3.96

12.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.19 €1.07

179.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$23.74 €21.26

-77.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$2.02 €1.81

-28.71%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$35.1K €31.5K

-41.16%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$37.3K €33.4K

-37.17%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$197 €177

-57.06%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$9.37 €8.39

149.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$30.74 €27.53

-6.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$55.3 €49.56

3.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$23.43 €20.98

23.39%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$9.94 €8.90

-48.29%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$448 €401

-53.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$7,918 €7,092

-50.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$67.2 €60.2

-35.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$42.87 €38.39

-3.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$105 €94.3

-29.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$135 €121

-33.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$705 €632

38.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$421 €377

-9.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,025 €918

66.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$841 €753

27.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$2,772 €2,483

42.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$3,179 €2,847

93.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,750 €1,568

-58.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.08

271.75%

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 Matera: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Matera

$421 28.3% 10.5% $40

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Matera

$328 22.1% 28.8% $73

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Matera

$228 15.3% 12.5% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Matera

$238 16% 73.6% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Matera

$158 10.6% 41.1% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Matera

$75 5.1% 11.7% $7.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Matera

$37 2.5% 25.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $705 in Matera. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Matera are about 2.4 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 $61 in Matera. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $328 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇹 Matera

🕒 Local time

10:12 10:12 AM

16:12 4:12 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

59,607

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 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 Matera 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Matera

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 Matera: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matera costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,227 in Matera. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matera, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $705 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 24% less in Matera. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $448 in Matera. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

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 $1,484 in Matera. 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, Matera makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.