Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Melbourne, AR

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,395 in Melbourne, AR, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne, AR
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Melbourne, AR Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Melbourne, AR

🇺🇸 United States

$2,395

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Melbourne, AR

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,395 in Melbourne, AR.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Melbourne, AR $2,395

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,533 in Melbourne, AR.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Melbourne, AR $3,533

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,672 in Melbourne, AR.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Melbourne, AR $4,672

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 49% less than in Melbourne, AR, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Melbourne, AR is 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$6.80 $6.80

58.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$77.6 $77.6

-44.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.33 $9.33

26.37%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$5.78 $5.78

-33.04%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.96 $1.96

-30.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.68 $1.68

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$5.92 $5.92

-47.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$6.96 $6.96

-27.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$0.88 $0.88

63.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$3.80 $3.80

-41.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$5.82 $5.82

-74.74%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$5.33 $5.33

-52.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.15 $8.15

-10.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$8.37 $8.37

-6.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$13.40 $13.40

-4.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$4.48 $4.48

-35.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.48 $1.48

-2.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.83 $2.83

-9.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.80 $4.80

-57.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.92 $1.92

4.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.46 $2.46

-18.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.46 $1.46

-18.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$2.03 $2.03

-37.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$8.86 $8.86

-50.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$18.94 $18.94

-49.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.61 $2.61

-39.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$4.51 $4.51

-37.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.09 $2.09

-72.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.96 $2.96

68.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.65 $1.65

112.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$32.45 $32.45

-83.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.98 $0.98

50.00%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$36.6K $36.6K

-42.73%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$26.5K $26.5K

-9.65%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$176 $176

-52.25%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$55.8 $55.8

-57.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$63.4 $63.4

-54.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$41.88 $41.88

50.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$9.91 $9.91

-50.15%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$1,075 $1,075

-81.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$21.1K $21.1K

-81.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$59.3 $59.3

-26.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$50.6 $50.6

-14.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$114 $114

-33.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$113 $113

-21.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,598 $1,598

-36.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$1,291 $1,291

-71.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$2,289 $2,289

-25.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$2,205 $2,205

-49.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,938 $2,938

34.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,284 $2,284

170.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.77

69.13%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Melbourne, AR: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Melbourne, AR

$1.3K 53.9% 245% $917

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Melbourne, AR

$365 15.3% 41.3% $107

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Melbourne, AR

$210 8.8% 3.7% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Melbourne, AR

$296 12.3% 115% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Melbourne, AR

$152 6.3% 34.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Melbourne, AR

$62 2.6% 15.3% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Melbourne, AR

$20 * 0.8% 62.8% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $1,598 in Melbourne, AR. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $78.0 in Melbourne, AR for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $365 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇺🇸 Melbourne, AR

🕒 Local time

03:42 3:42 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

76,068

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Melbourne, AR 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Melbourne, AR

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 Melbourne, AR: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 98% lower than in Melbourne, AR. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,816 in Playa del Carmen and $3,592 in Melbourne, AR 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,598 in Melbourne, AR. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,075 in Melbourne, AR. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $78.0 in Melbourne, AR. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,395 in Melbourne, AR, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Melbourne, AR. 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 $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Melbourne, AR are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 98% less than in Melbourne, AR. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.