Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Milton

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,718 in Milton, rent and utilities included – about $18,200 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
132

Cost of Living Index in Milton
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Milton Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Milton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,718 in Milton.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Milton $2,718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,861 in Milton.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Milton $3,861

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,004 in Milton.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Milton $5,004

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 56% less than in Milton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Milton is 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$14.04 CA$19.62

-22.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$71.0 CA$99.3

-38.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.73 CA$12.20

34.94%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.72 CA$5.19

2.42%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$2.95 CA$4.13

-56.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$2.36 CA$3.30

-66.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$4.95 CA$6.92

-35.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$6.08 CA$8.50

-18.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$2.02 CA$2.82

-30.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$2.27 CA$3.17

-2.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$2.56 CA$3.58

-44.53%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$3.20 CA$4.47

-21.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$9.04 CA$12.64

-19.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$22.57 CA$31.54

-65.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$22.80 CA$31.86

-44.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$4.96 CA$6.94

-43.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.09 CA$1.53

25.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$2.87 CA$4.01

-11.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$4.02 CA$5.61

-47.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.43 CA$3.39

-20.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$2.22 CA$3.10

-14.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$2.19 CA$3.06

-47.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$1.93 CA$2.69

-38.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$11.43 CA$15.98

-62.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$13.37 CA$18.68

-25.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$2.09 CA$2.91

-24.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.64 CA$3.69

1.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$2.77 CA$3.87

-80.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$56.5 CA$79.0

-52.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.29 CA$4.59

51.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.56 CA$2.18

113.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$28.41 CA$39.70

-81.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.08 CA$1.51

33.33%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$23.8K CA$33.2K

-13.07%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$18.8K CA$26.3K

24.53%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$230 CA$321

-63.14%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$55.1 CA$77.0

-57.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$53.4 CA$74.6

-46.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$42.90 CA$60.0

32.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$20.76 CA$29.01

39.26%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$14.47 CA$20.23

-64.48%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$401 CA$560

-48.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$10.8K CA$15.1K

-63.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$69.6 CA$97.3

-37.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$46.46 CA$64.9

-10.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$91.1 CA$127

-18.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$145 CA$202

-38.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,529 CA$2,137

-35.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$1,406 CA$1,966

-72.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$2,549 CA$3,562

-32.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$2,110 CA$2,948

-49.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$4,836 CA$6,760

-18.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$4,132 CA$5,774

49.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,138 CA$4,385

-76.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.69

101.23%

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 Milton: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Milton

$1.4K 51.7% 269% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Milton

$423 15.6% 66.1% $168

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Milton

$241 8.9% 19.2% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Milton

$338 12.5% 147% $202

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Milton

$158 5.8% 41.7% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Milton

$72 2.6% 6.7% $4.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Milton

$79 2.9% 55.9% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,529 in Milton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Milton pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $71 in Milton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $423 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Milton

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

110,128

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 CAD = 0.715 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, 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).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.715 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Milton 2,630 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Milton

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 Milton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,718 in Milton, so Playa del Carmen is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% 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 $1,529 in Milton. 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 53% less than in Milton. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $401 in Milton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,718 in Milton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Milton. 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 56% less than in Milton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.