Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mayari

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,484 in Mayari, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mayari outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Mayari
Learn more

Mayari Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Mayari

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,484

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,484 in Mayari.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Mayari $1,484

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,144 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,453 in Mayari.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Mayari $2,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,072 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,423 in Mayari.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Mayari $3,423

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 18% less than in Mayari, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 9% below, Mayari is 11% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$5.87 CUP 141

86.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$19.85 CUP 476

125.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$6.42 CUP 154

85.67%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$1.32 CUP 31.74

187.88%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$2.14 CUP 51.5

-38.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$1.23 CUP 29.49

-30.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$2.52 CUP 60.5

27.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$2.95 CUP 70.8

69.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$3.01 CUP 72.2

-51.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$0.77 CUP 18.40

202.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$2.43 CUP 58.3

-40.74%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$3.07 CUP 73.7

-19.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$5.81 CUP 139

32.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$5.23 CUP 125

50.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$11.96 CUP 287

7.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$5.05 CUP 121

-42.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$1.18 CUP 28.41

20.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$1.42 CUP 34.11

80.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$1.42 CUP 33.97

50.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$1.93 CUP 46.37

1.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$2.88 CUP 69.1

-32.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.02 CUP 24.39

12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$1.12 CUP 26.88

8.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$3.55 CUP 85.1

23.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$9.86 CUP 237

-0.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.71 CUP 40.96

-9.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$1.99 CUP 47.78

36.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$0.19 CUP 4.46

173.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$20.16 CUP 484

36.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$2.29 CUP 55.1

114.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$0.41 CUP 9.92

758.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$19.78 CUP 475

-71.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.24 CUP 29.74

24.19%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$70.0K CUP 1.7M

-69.65%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

-69.56%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$35.53 CUP 853

135.32%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$40.35 CUP 968

-40.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$252 CUP 6,052

-88.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$39.42 CUP 946

64.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$14.92 CUP 358

97.45%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$0.98 CUP 23.61

419.39%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$119 CUP 2,859

74.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$17.2K CUP 412.2K

-76.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$54.3 CUP 1,303

-17.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$40.33 CUP 968

4.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$45.69 CUP 1,096

65.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$49.17 CUP 1,180

85.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$211 CUP 5,069

367.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$679 CUP 16.3K

-43.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$376 CUP 9,016

356.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$1,737 CUP 41.7K

-36.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$390 CUP 9,357

930.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$354 CUP 8,506

1662.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$21.80 CUP 523

3377.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.50%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mayari: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Mayari

$679 44.7% 76.2% $293

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Mayari

$246 16.2% 5.6% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Mayari

$114 7.5% 44.1% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Mayari

$328 21.6% 140% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Mayari

$85 5.6% 25.3% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Mayari

$41 2.7% 44.9% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Mayari

$25 1.7% 51.5% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $986 in Playa del Carmen and $211 in Mayari. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 3377% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $20.00 in Mayari for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $246 per month, with Mayari cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇺 Mayari

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

09:05 9:05 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

29,259

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.89 CUP (100 CUP = 3.72 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mayari 1,190 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mayari

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 Mayari: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Mayari. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 3377% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $211 in Mayari. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $20.00 in Mayari. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,484 in Mayari – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,484 in Mayari, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mayari. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,215 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Mayari. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.