Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Medina del Campo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,740 in Medina del Campo, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medina del Campo
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Medina del Campo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Medina del Campo

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,740

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Medina del Campo

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 Medina del Campo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,740 in Medina del Campo.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Medina del Campo $1,740

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,447 in Medina del Campo.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Medina del Campo $2,447

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,155 in Medina del Campo.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Medina del Campo $3,155

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 31% less than in Medina del Campo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Medina del Campo is 29% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$13.59 €12.09

-21.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$56.8 €50.6

-22.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$15.82 €14.08

-25.47%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.59 €1.42

138.36%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.79 €2.48

-53.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.64 €1.46

-49.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.81 €2.50

12.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.69 €1.51

191.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.28 €1.14

10.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.80 €1.60

22.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.44 €1.29

2.08%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$4.26 €3.79

-41.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$12.37 €11.00

-41.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$8.19 €7.29

-2.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$17.57 €15.64

-26.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.29 €2.93

-11.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.54 €1.37

-10.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.72 €2.42

-8.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$3.15 €2.80

-35.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$2.23 €1.98

-9.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.26 €2.01

-15.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.44 €1.28

-20.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.80 €0.71

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$6.63 €5.90

-35.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$10.01 €8.91

-2.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.38 €1.23

15.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.06 €1.84

33.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.76 €1.57

-71.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$28.13 €25.04

-2.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$5.37 €4.78

-11.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.26 €1.12

157.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$29.75 €26.47

-81.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.86 €1.66

-17.74%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$37.8K €33.6K

-43.85%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$29.4K €26.1K

-20.82%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$145 €129

-42.48%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$18.43 €16.40

25.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$23.20 €20.65

19.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$49.36 €43.92

14.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.55 €12.06

108.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.14 €8.14

-45.30%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$472 €420

-56.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$10.4K €9,282

-49.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$94.2 €83.8

-53.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$32.99 €29.36

28.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$108 €96.2

-32.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$120 €106

-26.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$966 €860

2.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$774 €689

-50.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,390 €1,237

20.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$950 €846

13.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$3,365 €2,994

16.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,005 €1,784

206.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,318 €1,173

-36.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.43

233.82%

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 Medina del Campo: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Medina del Campo

$774 44.5% 102% $392

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Medina del Campo

$294 16.9% 14.3% $37

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Medina del Campo

$210 12.1% 5.1% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Medina del Campo

$187 10.7% 39.1% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Medina del Campo

$160 9.2% 43.6% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Medina del Campo

$68 3.9% 1.8% $1.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Medina del Campo

$47 2.7% 7.1% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $966 in Medina del Campo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medina del Campo pays 58% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $57 in Medina del Campo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $294 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇸 Medina del Campo

🕒 Local time

04:04 4:04 AM

10:04 10:04 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

20,090

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Medina del Campo 7,880 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Medina del Campo

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 Medina del Campo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 37% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $966 in Medina del Campo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 3% less than in Medina del Campo. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $472 in Medina del Campo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,740 in Medina del Campo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Medina del Campo. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Medina del Campo on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.