Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mont-Laurier

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,142 in Mont-Laurier, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Mont-Laurier
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Mont-Laurier Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Mont-Laurier

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,142

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Mont-Laurier

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,142 in Mont-Laurier.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Mont-Laurier $2,142

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,142 in Mont-Laurier.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mont-Laurier $3,142

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,143 in Mont-Laurier.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Mont-Laurier $4,143

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 44% less than in Mont-Laurier, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Mont-Laurier is 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$18.72 CA$26.18

-41.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$72.8 CA$102

-40.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$10.65 CA$14.90

10.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.98 CA$5.57

-4.27%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.04 CA$2.85

-37.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.53 CA$2.14

-49.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$6.44 CA$9.01

-50.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$7.17 CA$10.03

-31.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.34 CA$3.27

-39.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$2.62 CA$3.66

-15.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.47 CA$3.46

-42.51%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.45 CA$4.83

-26.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$5.88 CA$8.23

23.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$11.80 CA$16.50

-34.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$14.02 CA$19.60

-9.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.31 CA$4.63

-16.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.46 CA$2.05

-6.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$3.46 CA$4.84

-26.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$3.03 CA$4.24

-30.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.39 CA$1.95

39.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.08 CA$1.52

75.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.92 CA$2.69

-40.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.55 CA$2.17

-23.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$10.27 CA$14.37

-58.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.32 CA$8.84

57.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$2.34 CA$3.28

-32.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.95 CA$4.13

-9.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.48 CA$3.47

-77.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$53.6 CA$74.9

-50.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.17 CA$4.43

56.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.50 CA$2.10

122.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$33.30 CA$46.57

-83.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.12 CA$1.56

28.57%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$28.4K CA$39.7K

-27.20%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$21.0K CA$29.3K

11.98%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$77.6 CA$109

9.24%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$35.37 CA$49.47

-33.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$43.59 CA$61.0

-34.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.80 CA$52.9

50.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$17.67 CA$24.72

63.61%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$11.19 CA$15.66

-54.07%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$518 CA$725

-60.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$16.3K CA$22.8K

-75.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$58.2 CA$81.4

-25.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$39.10 CA$54.7

5.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$95.0 CA$133

-21.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$111 CA$156

-19.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,299 CA$1,817

-24.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$1,115 CA$1,560

-65.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,963 CA$2,746

-13.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,688 CA$2,360

-36.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$4,145 CA$5,798

-4.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$3,923 CA$5,487

56.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 Mont-Laurier: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Mont-Laurier

$1.1K 52.1% 193% $734

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Mont-Laurier

$309 14.4% 21.4% $54

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Mont-Laurier

$290 13.6% 43.4% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Mont-Laurier

$157 7.3% 14.4% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Mont-Laurier

$137 6.4% 22.2% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Mont-Laurier

$60 2.8% 10.6% $7.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mont-Laurier

$74 3.5% 47% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,299 in Mont-Laurier. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $73 in Mont-Laurier for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $309 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Mont-Laurier

🕒 Local time

21:52 9:52 PM

22:52 10:52 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,405

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 CAD = 0.715 USD

1 CAD = 0.642 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.715 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.642 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mont-Laurier 3,070 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mont-Laurier

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 Mont-Laurier: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $3,213 in Mont-Laurier 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,299 in Mont-Laurier. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Mont-Laurier. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $73 in Mont-Laurier. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,142 in Mont-Laurier, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mont-Laurier. 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 44% less than in Mont-Laurier. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.