Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Matola

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $999 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Matola
Learn more

Matola Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$999

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $999 in Matola, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Matola $999

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,523 in Matola, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Matola $1,523

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,048 in Matola, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Matola $2,048

Playa del Carmen costs about 21% more than Matola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Matola are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Matola 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$7.80 MZN 493

40.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$62.6 MZN 3,960

-30.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.34 MZN 464

60.49%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$1.59 MZN 100

139.62%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.82 MZN 52.0

56.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.67 MZN 42.67

16.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$1.18 MZN 74.8

168.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$1.54 MZN 97.5

220.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.59 MZN 101

-11.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.99 MZN 62.6

124.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.59 MZN 101

-10.69%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.93 MZN 122

30.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$13.47 MZN 852

-46.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.82 MZN 368

32.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$4.76 MZN 301

166.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.97 MZN 125

41.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$0.62 MZN 39.38

120.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.64 MZN 103

55.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.03 MZN 65.4

105.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.00 MZN 63.5

94.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.74 MZN 47.08

155.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.95 MZN 60.1

21.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.53 MZN 33.64

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$2.89 MZN 183

48.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$7.21 MZN 456

38.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$0.97 MZN 61.3

62.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.21 MZN 76.8

120.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$1.61 MZN 102

208.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.20 MZN 76.1

177.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$24.12 MZN 1,525

-77.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.40 MZN 88.5

2.86%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$31.4K MZN 2.0M

-34.22%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

4.14%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$39.21 MZN 2,480

116.25%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$7.64 MZN 483

206.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$77.9 MZN 4,926

-63.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$39.09 MZN 2,473

45.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$7.60 MZN 481

-32.37%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$173 MZN 10.9K

19.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$5,041 MZN 318.8K

-22.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$49.21 MZN 3,113

-11.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$56.0 MZN 3,539

-25.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$79.2 MZN 5,011

-6.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$77.4 MZN 4,898

15.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$462 MZN 29.2K

112.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$391 MZN 24.7K

-2.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$696 MZN 44.0K

145.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$552 MZN 34.9K

94.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$307 MZN 19.4K

139.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-54.20%

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 Matola: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Matola

$391 39.1% 2.6% $9.9

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Matola

$185 18.6% 27.2% $69

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Matola

$118 11.9% 41.5% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Matola

$125 12.5% 8.9% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Matola

$118 11.8% 5.5% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Matola

$54 5.4% 19.4% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8% 84.9% $43

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 $462 in Matola. 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 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 $63 in Matola. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $185 in Matola – so Matola wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇿 Matola

🕒 Local time

19:08 7:08 PM

02:08 2:08 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

675,422

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.89 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Matola 13,870 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Matola

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 Matola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $999 in Matola – Matola comes out roughly 17% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,498 in Matola. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matola, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $462 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $999 in Matola. That makes Matola about 17% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $173 in Matola. 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 Matola, where all-in costs run around $999, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Matola it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matola – 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 Matola. 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.