Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Matsuyama

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,277 in Matsuyama, rent and utilities included – about $880 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Matsuyama
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Matsuyama Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Matsuyama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,277

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,277 in Matsuyama, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Matsuyama $1,277

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,017 in Matsuyama, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Matsuyama $2,017

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,758 in Matsuyama, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Matsuyama $2,758

Playa del Carmen is about 6% cheaper than Matsuyama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Matsuyama are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Matsuyama 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$6.38 ¥1,008

70.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$30.99 ¥4,896

42.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$4.71 ¥744

149.68%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.38 ¥376

54.62%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.19 ¥188

12.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.58 ¥91.7

41.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.09 ¥330

46.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.29 ¥361

115.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.50 ¥238

-2.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.33 ¥210

66.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$5.40 ¥853

-72.59%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.08 ¥329

19.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$12.49 ¥1,974

-39.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$9.48 ¥1,498

-16.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$32.49 ¥5,134

-61.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.67 ¥579

-24.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.32 ¥367

-38.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$6.34 ¥1,001

-58.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$4.24 ¥670

-49.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$3.67 ¥580

-44.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$3.45 ¥545

-42.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.24 ¥196

-8.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.97 ¥154

23.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.51 ¥555

21.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.99 ¥1,262

25.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.97 ¥312

-21.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.44 ¥227

84.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.44 ¥228

-63.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$52.7 ¥8,327

-47.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.23 ¥510

51.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$3.08 ¥486

11.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$26.40 ¥4,170

-79.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.10 ¥173

31.82%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$20.0K ¥3.2M

5.64%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$16.7K ¥2.6M

37.82%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$144 ¥22.8K

-40.85%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$23.66 ¥3,738

-0.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$43.16 ¥6,819

-34.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$53.0 ¥8,379

17.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$12.54 ¥1,982

-59.33%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$319 ¥50.3K

-36.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$6,069 ¥958.9K

-34.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$49.43 ¥7,809

-10.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$25.19 ¥3,980

64.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$46.18 ¥7,297

57.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$66.3 ¥10.5K

35.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$526 ¥83.2K

86.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$328 ¥51.8K

13.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,122 ¥177.3K

49.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$724 ¥114.4K

51.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$4,302 ¥679.6K

-8.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,726 ¥272.6K

255.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.28

402.19%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Matsuyama: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Matsuyama

$328 25.7% 12.1% $45

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Matsuyama

$383 30% 48.1% $124

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Matsuyama

$116 9.1% 42.2% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Matsuyama

$211 16.5% 53.8% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Matsuyama

$84 6.6% 24.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Matsuyama

$78 6.1% 7.9% $5.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Matsuyama

$77 6% 49.1% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $526 in Matsuyama. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $31.00 in Matsuyama. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $383 in Matsuyama – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Matsuyama

🕒 Local time

22:53 10:53 PM

12:53 12:53 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

511,192

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Matsuyama 12,630 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Matsuyama

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 Matsuyama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,277 in Matsuyama – roughly 6% apart. 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 $1,915 in Matsuyama. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 92% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $319 in Matsuyama. 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 Matsuyama at $1,277. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Matsuyama 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 $1,277 in Matsuyama. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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