Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Medias

For one person, living is cheaper in Medias: $1,102 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Medias
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Medias Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Medias

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,102

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,102 in Medias.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Medias $1,102

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,683 in Medias.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Medias $1,683

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,263 in Medias.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Medias $2,263

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 9% more expensive than in Medias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Medias 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$11.14 RON 53.0

-4.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$51.8 RON 246

-15.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.35 RON 34.94

60.41%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.70 RON 17.59

2.43%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.46 RON 11.68

-47.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$2.25 RON 10.71

-63.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.20 RON 15.20

-1.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.27 RON 15.55

50.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.23 RON 5.83

14.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.43 RON 6.77

53.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.73 RON 8.24

-15.03%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.59 RON 17.05

-30.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.65 RON 41.13

-15.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$6.69 RON 31.82

18.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$12.89 RON 61.3

-0.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.48 RON 7.02

95.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.48 RON 7.04

-6.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.55 RON 7.35

60.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.58 RON 12.28

-21.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.77 RON 3.66

162.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.75 RON 3.57

153.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.80 RON 3.78

42.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.75 RON 3.57

65.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$6.21 RON 29.50

-31.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.54 RON 35.85

30.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.23 RON 5.83

29.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.80 RON 8.56

52.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.70 RON 3.32

-27.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$23.96 RON 114

14.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.66 RON 3.14

621.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.68 RON 3.23

377.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$6.60 RON 31.35

-18.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.38 RON 6.56

10.87%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.0K RON 137.9K

-26.89%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$25.2K RON 120.0K

-7.85%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$180 RON 857

-53.71%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$7.25 RON 34.47

219.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$9.26 RON 43.99

198.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$37.03 RON 176

52.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$20.31 RON 96.6

38.80%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.12 RON 29.10

-18.30%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$438 RON 2,082

-52.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$7,770 RON 36.9K

-32.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$52.3 RON 249

-16.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$35.51 RON 169

19.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$73.5 RON 349

-1.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$90.8 RON 432

-2.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$389 RON 1,850

155.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$292 RON 1,389

30.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$602 RON 2,862

178.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$453 RON 2,152

138.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,039 RON 9,690

91.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,480 RON 7,036

314.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.23

58.37%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Medias: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Medias

$292 26.5% 23.6% $90

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Medias

$222 20.2% 13.7% $35

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Medias

$197 17.9% 1.7% $3.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Medias

$197 17.9% 46.6% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Medias

$113 10.3% 2.1% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Medias

$49 4.5% 25.8% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Medias

$31 2.8% 38.9% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $389 in Medias. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $52 in Medias. Groceries flip the comparison at $257 vs $222, with Medias cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Medias

🕒 Local time

22:11 10:11 PM

05:11 5:11 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

53,564

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Medias 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Medias

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 Medias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medias is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,653 in Medias to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $389 in Medias. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $438 in Medias. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Medias gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.