Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nara, Japan

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Nara: $1,204 and $1,233 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
Learn more

Nara Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,233

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,233 in Nara.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nara $1,233

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,851 in Nara.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nara $1,851

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,468 in Nara.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Nara $2,468

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Nara; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Nara 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.33 ¥996

72.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$32.27 ¥5,083

34.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.99 ¥785

136.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$2.50 ¥394

52.40%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.26 ¥198

1.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.71 ¥112

9.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$3.21 ¥506

-1.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.10 ¥488

59.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.57 ¥247

-10.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.30 ¥205

70.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$4.12 ¥649

-65.53%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$2.23 ¥352

13.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$9.75 ¥1,537

-25.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$7.07 ¥1,114

8.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$18.13 ¥2,855

-30.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.30 ¥520

-15.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.93 ¥304

-29.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$2.12 ¥334

20.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$4.08 ¥642

-48.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.50 ¥236

29.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.14 ¥179

65.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.13 ¥179

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.88 ¥138

34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$3.88 ¥612

10.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.54 ¥1,502

4.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.87 ¥295

-15.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.15 ¥339

24.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$1.48 ¥233

-62.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$74.3 ¥11.7K

-64.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$3.15 ¥497

57.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$2.92 ¥461

14.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$15.66 ¥2,467

-65.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.08 ¥169

33.33%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$21.8K ¥3.4M

-5.04%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

53.21%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$118 ¥18.6K

-28.08%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$24.81 ¥3,909

-5.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$30.74 ¥4,843

-6.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$83.2 ¥13.1K

-31.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$7.58 ¥1,195

281.40%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$12.57 ¥1,980

-59.11%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$693 ¥109.1K

-70.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$13.3K ¥2.1M

-70.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$47.11 ¥7,420

-7.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$30.96 ¥4,877

33.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$61.8 ¥9,728

20.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$89.9 ¥14.2K

-0.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$411 ¥64.8K

138.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$340 ¥53.5K

12.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$832 ¥131.1K

105.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$547 ¥86.1K

96.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$2,671 ¥420.7K

47.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$2,040 ¥321.3K

201.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,123 ¥176.8K

-34.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.02

466.83%

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 Nara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Nara

$340 27.6% 10.7% $41

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Nara

$285 23.1% 11.7% $30

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Nara

$126 10.2% 37.9% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nara

$173 14.1% 26.8% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nara

$103 8.4% 7.5% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Nara

$108 8.8% 60.9% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nara

$98 8% 94.3% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $411 in Nara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nara pays 53% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $32 in Nara. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $285, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Nara

🕒 Local time

13:22 1:22 PM

03:22 3:22 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

355,280

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nara 12,380 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nara

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 Nara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $411 in Nara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 64% less than in Nara. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Nara. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Nara on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.