Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Narok

For one person, living is cheaper in Narok: $608 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Narok
Learn more

Narok Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Narok

🇰🇪 Kenya

$608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $608 in Narok.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Narok $608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $922 in Narok.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Narok $922

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,235 in Narok.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Narok $1,235

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 98% more expensive than in Narok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Narok 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.29 KES 297

376.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$22.64 KES 2,939

91.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.75 KES 617

148.00%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.93 KES 251

97.41%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.37 KES 47.87

245.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.24 KES 31.18

225.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.97 KES 256

60.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.25 KES 292

119.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.76 KES 98.6

85.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.48 KES 62.0

362.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.43 KES 186

-0.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.21 KES 157

108.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.03 KES 783

20.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.25 KES 812

23.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$6.21 KES 806

104.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.99 KES 388

-7.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.07 KES 139

28.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.04 KES 264

25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.79 KES 103

168.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.79 KES 103

145.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.75 KES 97.8

152.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.75 KES 97.4

53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.52 KES 67.2

126.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$1.50 KES 195

186.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.10 KES 921

40.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.90 KES 246

-16.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.26 KES 294

18.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.12 KES 146

-50.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$38.58 KES 5,008

-31.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.51 KES 195

229.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.37 KES 178

143.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.14 KES 148

370.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.39 KES 180

3.60%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.2K KES 2.5M

7.80%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$21.3K KES 2.8M

10.26%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$55.2 KES 7,170

53.49%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$7.56 KES 981

209.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$23.01 KES 2,987

24.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$23.43 KES 3,041

143.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$2.35 KES 305

1130.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$7.84 KES 1,017

-34.44%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$58.4 KES 7,583

253.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$7,728 KES 1.0M

-49.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$15.58 KES 2,022

178.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$15.58 KES 2,023

165.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$23.13 KES 3,003

220.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$38.05 KES 4,938

134.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$234 KES 30.4K

318.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$152 KES 19.7K

150.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$305 KES 39.6K

459.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$235 KES 30.5K

357.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,522 KES 197.5K

159.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,140 KES 147.9K

440.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$310 KES 40.2K

136.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-11.92%

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 Narok: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Narok

$152 25% 60.1% $229

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Narok

$166 27.3% 35% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Narok

$73 11.9% 64.2% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Narok

$86 14.1% 37.3% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Narok

$42 6.8% 62.8% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Narok

$39 6.4% 41.9% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Narok

$51 8.5% 1.9% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $234 in Narok. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $23 in Narok for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $166 per month, with Narok cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇪 Narok

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

14:07 2:07 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

40,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Narok 13,460 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Narok

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 Narok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $608 in Narok, so Narok is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $234 in Narok. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $58 in Narok. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $608 in Narok versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Narok but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Narok 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.

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