Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,599 in Monterrey.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Monterrey $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,493 in Monterrey.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Monterrey $2,493

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,387 in Monterrey.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Monterrey $3,387

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 25% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Monterrey is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$13.80 MX$255

-21.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$47.99 MX$887

-7.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.65 MX$197

10.42%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.99 MX$73.7

-7.77%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.66 MX$30.76

-19.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.99 MX$18.21

-17.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.36 MX$43.64

29.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.43 MX$81.8

11.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.82 MX$33.58

-19.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.83 MX$52.4

-21.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.92 MX$35.44

-22.92%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.48 MX$45.78

0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$11.74 MX$217

-35.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$9.10 MX$168

-12.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$12.53 MX$232

0.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.34 MX$61.6

-16.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.57 MX$29.10

-8.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.16 MX$39.86

21.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.47 MX$45.65

-13.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.31 MX$42.64

-12.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.68 MX$49.47

-25.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.46 MX$26.90

-21.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.19 MX$22.07

0.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.75 MX$87.8

-10.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$13.58 MX$251

-26.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.92 MX$35.52

-19.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.88 MX$53.2

-7.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.79 MX$14.66

-32.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$31.36 MX$579

-12.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.59 MX$29.44

208.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.06 MX$19.58

223.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$10.80 MX$200

-50.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.55 MX$28.59

-6.45%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$24.2K MX$446.4K

-12.41%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$24.3K MX$449.4K

-5.35%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$117 MX$2,159

-26.92%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$26.38 MX$488

-11.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$26.04 MX$481

9.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$30.26 MX$559

105.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$21.25 MX$393

34.96%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.23 MX$96.6

-2.49%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$673 MX$12.4K

-70.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$11.1K MX$205.2K

-64.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$72.1 MX$1,332

-38.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$42.38 MX$783

-2.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$112 MX$2,066

-34.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$119 MX$2,200

-24.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$949 MX$17.5K

3.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$666 MX$12.3K

-44.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,821 MX$33.7K

-7.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,271 MX$23.5K

-13.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$4,050 MX$74.8K

-2.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$2,348 MX$43.4K

161.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$1,155 MX$21.3K

-36.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.79

-2.88%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Monterrey

$666 41.7% 78.8% $294

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Monterrey

$304 19% 17.8% $46

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Monterrey

$221 13.9% 10.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Monterrey

$169 10.6% 23.3% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Monterrey

$155 9.7% 39.2% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 43.8% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 19.9% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $949 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 57% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $48.00 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $304 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

09:15 9:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Playa del Carmen Monterrey 1,460 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Monterrey

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 Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Monterrey differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,599 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Monterrey. 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $949 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $48.00 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,599 in Monterrey – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,599 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. 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 33% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.