Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Melissia

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,449 in Melissia, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
70

Cost of Living Index in Melissia
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Melissia Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Melissia

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,449

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,449 in Melissia.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Melissia $1,449

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,216 in Melissia.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Melissia $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,983 in Melissia.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Melissia $2,983

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 17% less than in Melissia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Melissia is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$11.12 €9.96

-1.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$57.8 €51.8

-24.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.82 €7.90

33.56%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$4.19 €3.75

-9.07%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.34 €2.09

-45.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.59 €0.53

32.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$4.43 €3.97

-28.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.89 €4.38

0.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.81 €1.62

-22.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.45 €1.30

53.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$2.67 €2.39

-46.82%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$5.27 €4.72

-52.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$12.08 €10.82

-39.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$10.06 €9.01

-23.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$19.36 €17.34

-34.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.22 €1.99

25.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.90 €1.70

-27.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.35 €1.21

88.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$2.13 €1.91

-0.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.16 €1.04

67.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.09 €0.98

73.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.90 €0.80

27.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.16 €1.04

1.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$5.64 €5.06

-23.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.93 €8.89

0.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$2.07 €1.86

-23.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.39 €2.14

11.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$1.37 €1.23

-59.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$54.8 €49.09

-51.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$4.46 €3.99

11.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.04 €0.93

220.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$16.50 €14.78

-67.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$2.21 €1.98

-34.84%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$27.6K €24.7K

-25.02%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$24.4K €21.8K

-3.73%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$199 €178

-57.45%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$25.51 €22.85

-8.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$28.69 €25.69

-0.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$53.0 €47.49

7.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$22.20 €19.88

30.23%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$9.56 €8.56

-46.23%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$466 €417

-55.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$4,741 €4,246

-17.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$90.4 €80.9

-52.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$39.22 €35.13

5.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$101 €90.1

-26.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$124 €111

-28.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$461 €413

112.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$379 €339

0.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$730 €654

134.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$617 €552

74.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$2,471 €2,213

59.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$1,934 €1,733

218.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,368 €1,225

-46.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.48

155.58%

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 Melissia: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Melissia

$379 26.1% 0.5% $2

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Melissia

$306 21.1% 20% $51

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Melissia

$209 14.5% 3.5% $7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Melissia

$253 17.5% 85.2% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Melissia

$160 11% 42.8% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Melissia

$72 5% 7.2% $4.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Melissia

$70 4.8% 38.6% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $461 in Melissia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melissia pays 86% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $58 in Melissia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $306 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇷 Melissia

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

03:37 3:37 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,588

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Melissia 10,300 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Melissia

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 Melissia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Melissia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 46% 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 $461 in Melissia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,449 in Melissia – Playa del Carmen is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 51% less than in Melissia. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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, Melissia on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.