Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Medea

For one person, living is cheaper in Medea: $453 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Medea
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Medea Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Medea

🇩🇿 Algeria

$453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $453 in Medea, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Medea $453

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $778 in Medea, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Medea $778

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,103 in Medea, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Medea $1,103

Playa del Carmen costs about 166% more than Medea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Medea are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Medea 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$1.91 DZD 258

471.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$28.37 DZD 3,835

52.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$3.80 DZD 514

210.00%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$0.36 DZD 49.22

958.33%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$0.43 DZD 58.2

197.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$0.21 DZD 27.71

271.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$2.19 DZD 296

44.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$2.18 DZD 295

126.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$0.88 DZD 119

60.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$0.08 DZD 10.18

2675.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.10 DZD 148

29.09%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$1.19 DZD 161

111.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.91 DZD 1,069

-8.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.93 DZD 531

95.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$14.49 DZD 1,959

-12.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$2.04 DZD 275

36.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$2.77 DZD 374

-50.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.07 DZD 144

138.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$0.60 DZD 80.7

253.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$0.62 DZD 83.2

212.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$0.49 DZD 66.0

285.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$0.81 DZD 110

41.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.27 DZD 36.52

337.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$2.16 DZD 292

99.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.84 DZD 924

45.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.28 DZD 172

23.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$1.87 DZD 253

42.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.23 DZD 30.49

139.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$6.89 DZD 932

286.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$0.54 DZD 73.6

820.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$0.46 DZD 62.3

623.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$5.55 DZD 750

-3.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$0.32 DZD 43.89

350.00%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$19.7K DZD 2.7M

4.99%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$34.4K DZD 4.7M

-31.87%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$18.29 DZD 2,472

363.59%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$7.51 DZD 1,015

211.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$12.12 DZD 1,638

136.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$22.61 DZD 3,056

152.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$1.89 DZD 256

1429.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$3.27 DZD 442

57.19%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$39.39 DZD 5,325

424.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$6,300 DZD 851.5K

-37.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$19.54 DZD 2,641

121.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$31.20 DZD 4,216

32.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$31.23 DZD 4,221

137.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$54.9 DZD 7,414

62.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$141 DZD 19.1K

592.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$91.6 DZD 12.4K

315.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$268 DZD 36.2K

537.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$197 DZD 26.7K

444.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$990 DZD 133.7K

298.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$1,059 DZD 143.1K

481.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

$311 DZD 42.1K

135.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

129.00%

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 Medea: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Medea

$92 20.3% 75.9% $289

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Medea

$173 38.2% 32.2% $82

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Medea

$49 10.8% 75.8% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Medea

$38 8.4% 72.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Medea

$62 13.6% 44.9% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Medea

$29 6.4% 56.7% $38

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Medea

$11 2.4% 78.9% $40

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $141 in Medea. 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, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $28 in Medea. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $173 – making Medea the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇿 Medea

🕒 Local time

03:11 3:11 AM

09:11 9:11 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

138,355

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Medea 8,660 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Medea

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 Medea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 166%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $679 in Medea. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medea, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $141 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $28 in Medea. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $453 in Medea. That makes Medea about 62% cheaper.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Medea, where all-in costs run around $453, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Medea it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Medea – 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 Medea. 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.