Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,849 in Melbourne.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Melbourne $2,849

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,274 in Melbourne.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Melbourne $4,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,699 in Melbourne.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Melbourne $5,699

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 58% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$17.50 A$24.98

-37.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$84.3 A$120

-48.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$12.17 A$17.37

-3.20%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$4.07 A$5.82

-6.39%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$3.18 A$4.54

-59.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$2.50 A$3.56

-68.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$9.57 A$13.66

-66.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$8.25 A$11.78

-40.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.50 A$2.15

-6.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$2.97 A$4.24

-25.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$2.68 A$3.83

-47.01%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$5.45 A$7.78

-53.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.71 A$15.29

-32.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$10.05 A$14.34

-23.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$15.00 A$21.41

-15.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$4.07 A$5.81

-31.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$3.14 A$4.48

-56.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$3.12 A$4.45

-18.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$4.73 A$6.75

-55.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.98 A$4.25

-34.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$2.49 A$3.56

-24.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$2.48 A$3.54

-53.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$1.60 A$2.28

-26.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$44.65 A$63.7

-90.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$12.68 A$18.10

-21.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$5.55 A$7.91

-71.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$5.18 A$7.40

-48.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$3.84 A$5.48

-85.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$139 A$198

-80.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$4.36 A$6.22

13.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.37 A$1.95

143.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$29.72 A$42.43

-81.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.49 A$2.12

-3.36%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$29.1K A$41.5K

-28.96%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$25.7K A$36.6K

-8.59%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$236 A$336

-64.02%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$28.01 A$39.98

-16.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$57.2 A$81.7

-49.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$48.39 A$69.1

17.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$21.46 A$30.64

34.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$17.67 A$25.22

-70.91%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$2,461 A$3,513

-91.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$29.7K A$42.4K

-86.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$81.2 A$116

-46.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$49.28 A$70.3

-15.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$120 A$171

-37.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$131 A$187

-31.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,703 A$2,430

-42.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$1,409 A$2,011

-72.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$3,496 A$4,989

-51.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$2,527 A$3,606

-57.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$7,978 A$11.4K

-50.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$6,900 A$9,849

-10.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$4,257 A$6,076

-82.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.9

94.07%

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 Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4% 270% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Melbourne

$386 13.6% 51.7% $132

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Melbourne

$312 11% 54.4% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Melbourne

$321 11.3% 135% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Melbourne

$171 6% 53.5% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Melbourne

$84 2.9% 24.4% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Melbourne

$165 5.8% 228% $115

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,703 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $84 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $386 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

12:29 12:29 PM

04:29 4:29 AM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.628 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.628 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Melbourne 14,690 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Melbourne

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: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,849 in Melbourne, so Playa del Carmen is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 83% 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,703 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,461 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,849 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.