Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Msaken

For one person, living is cheaper in Msaken: $646 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Msaken
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Msaken Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Msaken

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $646 in Msaken.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Msaken $646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,020 in Msaken.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Msaken $1,020

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,394 in Msaken.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Msaken $1,394

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 87% more expensive than in Msaken, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Msaken 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$4.93 TND 14.76

118.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$21.88 TND 65.5

96.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.86 TND 17.55

101.19%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.03 TND 3.08

275.73%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.80 TND 2.39

71.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.37 TND 1.11

127.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.71 TND 5.11

81.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.13 TND 6.38

138.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$0.48 TND 1.45

200.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.30 TND 0.90

643.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.71 TND 5.12

-14.04%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.76 TND 5.26

43.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$13.69 TND 41.00

-46.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.65 TND 16.93

39.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.36 TND 43.00

-10.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.04 TND 6.10

42.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$3.60 TND 10.78

-60.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.11 TND 3.33

129.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$0.81 TND 2.43

154.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.86 TND 2.59

132.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.63 TND 1.88

219.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.40 TND 1.20

197.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.32 TND 0.95

293.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.76 TND 11.26

17.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.94 TND 17.78

61.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.07 TND 3.20

48.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.31 TND 3.92

114.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.34 TND 1.02

67.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.32 TND 0.96

1456.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.32 TND 0.96

993.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$3.91 TND 11.71

38.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.86 TND 2.58

70.93%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$38.9K TND 116.4K

-46.02%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$35.6K TND 106.8K

-32.94%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$59.7 TND 179

41.08%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$9.20 TND 27.56

160.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$20.21 TND 60.5

43.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$21.29 TND 63.8

195.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.92 TND 17.73

-16.55%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$91.9 TND 275

121.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$3,156 TND 9,452

24.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$43.28 TND 130

0.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$58.7 TND 176

-26.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$117 TND 351

-35.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$86.0 TND 258

2.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$108 TND 325

829.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$93.1 TND 279

301.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$203 TND 607

742.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$150 TND 450

636.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$244 TND 731

209.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.67

7.31%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Msaken: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Msaken

$93 14.4% 75.1% $281

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Msaken

$203 31.5% 21.3% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Msaken

$87 13.4% 57.1% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Msaken

$89 13.8% 35.1% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Msaken

$137 21.3% 21.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Msaken

$33 5.1% 54.5% $40

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Msaken

$3.3 * 0.5% 93.8% $49

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $108 in Msaken. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 209% 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: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $22.00 in Msaken for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $203 per month, with Msaken cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇳 Msaken

🕒 Local time

11:45 11:45 AM

17:45 5:45 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

56,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Msaken 9,340 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Msaken

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 Msaken: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Msaken is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 87% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 209% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $108 in Msaken. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $91.9 in Msaken. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Msaken – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $646 in Msaken versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Msaken but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Msaken the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Msaken is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Msaken are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Msaken gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.