Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mortsel

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,143 in Mortsel, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
102

Cost of Living Index in Mortsel
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Mortsel Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Mortsel

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,143 in Mortsel, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Mortsel $2,143

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,169 in Mortsel, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mortsel $3,169

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,196 in Mortsel, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Mortsel $4,196

Playa del Carmen is about 44% cheaper than Mortsel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Mortsel is 58% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$22.46 €20.06

-52.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$94.6 €84.5

-53.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$13.54 €12.09

-12.92%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$4.33 €3.86

-12.47%

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

$1.30 MX$24.09

$3.41 €3.04

-61.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.48

$2.91 €2.60

-71.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$5.49 €4.91

-42.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$5.48 €4.89

-10.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.38 €1.23

2.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.77

$2.72 €2.43

-19.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.35

$2.23 €1.99

-34.08%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.37

$4.01 €3.58

-37.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$16.18 €14.45

-54.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$11.72 €10.47

-32.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$22.85 €20.41

-43.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$2.84 €2.54

2.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.69

$2.40 €2.15

-42.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.26

$2.59 €2.31

-3.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.70

$2.80 €2.50

-27.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.61

$2.19 €1.96

-7.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$1.81 €1.62

4.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.25

$1.30 €1.16

-12.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.01

$1.04 €0.93

19.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$13.34 €11.91

-67.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$8.80 €7.86

11.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.45

$1.91 €1.71

-16.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$2.20 €1.96

25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$3.12 €2.79

-83.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

$53.8 €48.09

-49.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$5.62 €5.02

-15.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$2.65 €2.37

22.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$44.46 €39.72

-87.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.38

$2.12 €1.89

-27.83%

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

$21.2K MX$393.9K

$35.5K €31.7K

-40.26%

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

$23.3K MX$432.0K

$36.7K €32.8K

-36.69%

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

$83.5 MX$1,550

$221 €197

-62.15%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$21.09 €18.84

9.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$513

$48.16 €43.02

-42.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,048

$37.01 €33.06

52.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

$19.53 €17.44

44.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.9

$15.68 €14.00

-68.11%

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

$207 MX$3,846

$556 €496

-62.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$21.3K €19.0K

-75.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$807

$114 €102

-61.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$790

$47.16 €42.12

-9.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,351

$106 €94.6

-31.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,641

$148 €132

-40.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$911 €814

9.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,102

$822 €735

-53.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$1,375 €1,228

21.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,148 €1,025

-5.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.6K

$4,226 €3,774

-7.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.0K

$2,884 €2,576

112.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$2,364 €2,112

-64.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.5

227.14%

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 Mortsel: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Mortsel

$822 38.4% 115% $440

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Mortsel

$354 16.5% 37.5% $97

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Mortsel

$336 15.7% 67.7% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Mortsel

$290 13.5% 116% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Mortsel

$187 8.7% 68.1% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Mortsel

$68 3.2% 2.9% $1.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mortsel

$85 4% 68.9% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $911 in Mortsel. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mortsel are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $95 in Mortsel. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $354 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇪 Mortsel

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

18:51 6:51 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

24,525

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Mortsel 8,340 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mortsel

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 Mortsel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mortsel is pricier by about 78%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,214 in Mortsel. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $995 in Playa del Carmen and $911 in Mortsel. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Groceries cost about 38% more in Mortsel, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $95 in Mortsel. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Mortsel at $2,143. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mortsel it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $2,143 in Mortsel. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mortsel makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.