Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Monteria

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,358 in Monteria, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Monteria
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Monteria Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monteria

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,358

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,358 in Monteria.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Monteria $1,358

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,064 in Monteria.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Monteria $2,064

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,770 in Monteria.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Monteria $2,770

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 11% less than in Monteria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$5.66 COP 18.3K

88.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$47.00 COP 151.7K

-6.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.08 COP 32.5K

16.96%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.66 COP 8,600

42.48%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.56 COP 8,261

-49.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$2.33 COP 7,537

-64.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.35 COP 10.8K

-5.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$5.11 COP 16.5K

-3.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.84 COP 5,949

-23.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.90 COP 9,358

-24.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.48 COP 4,782

-0.68%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$4.85 COP 15.7K

-48.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.11 COP 26.2K

-10.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$9.96 COP 32.2K

-20.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$12.47 COP 40.3K

3.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.78 COP 12.2K

-23.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.45 COP 4,672

-4.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.94 COP 6,275

28.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.02 COP 6,527

0.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.61 COP 5,193

25.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.47 COP 4,760

29.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.13 COP 3,637

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.19 COP 3,828

4.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.11 COP 13.3K

3.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$14.43 COP 46.6K

-32.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.39 COP 4,492

14.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.37 COP 7,666

16.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.07 COP 3,461

-52.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$65.2 COP 210.4K

-57.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.61 COP 5,195

195.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.09 COP 6,737

55.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$9.19 COP 29.7K

-41.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.28 COP 4,142

19.53%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$34.9K COP 112.6M

-39.20%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$34.9K COP 112.6M

-33.31%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$79.7 COP 257.3K

4.77%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$13.46 COP 43.5K

72.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$27.98 COP 90.3K

-1.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$38.09 COP 123.0K

48.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$8.12 COP 26.2K

-38.42%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$634 COP 2.0M

-67.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$5,860 COP 18.9M

-10.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$83.8 COP 270.4K

-48.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$52.0 COP 168.0K

-18.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$137 COP 441.9K

-46.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$99.5 COP 321.2K

-11.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$725 COP 2.3M

37.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$482 COP 1.6M

-20.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,394 COP 4.5M

20.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$774 COP 2.5M

39.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,193 COP 7.1M

78.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,787 COP 5.8M

243.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-23.67%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Monteria: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Monteria

$482 35.6% 26.2% $100

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Monteria

$297 21.9% 15.3% $39

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Monteria

$154 11.3% 23.1% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Monteria

$121 8.9% 9.8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Monteria

$167 12.3% 50.6% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Monteria

$54 4% 18.2% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Monteria

$82 6% 61.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $725 in Monteria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $47 in Monteria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $297 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 Monteria

🕒 Local time

15:16 3:16 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

454,032

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Monteria 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Monteria

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 Monteria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Monteria. 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 $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $2,037 in Monteria 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $725 in Monteria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $634 in Monteria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Monteria. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.