Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Negril

For one person, living is cheaper in Negril: $927 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Negril
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Negril Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Negril

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$927

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $927 in Negril.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Negril $927

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,478 in Negril.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Negril $1,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,029 in Negril.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Negril $2,029

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 30% more expensive than in Negril, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Negril 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$9.68 JMD 1,526

12.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$49.26 JMD 7,767

-11.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$8.05 JMD 1,269

46.34%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.05 JMD 323

85.85%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.15 JMD 181

11.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.74 JMD 117

5.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.16 JMD 341

46.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.19 JMD 503

54.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$4.02 JMD 634

-64.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$3.37 JMD 532

-34.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.58 JMD 249

-10.13%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.51 JMD 554

-28.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.25 JMD 1,773

-35.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.33 JMD 998

21.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.19 JMD 1,606

24.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$6.06 JMD 956

-54.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.96 JMD 624

-65.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$7.47 JMD 1,177

-65.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.99 JMD 471

-29.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$3.15 JMD 497

-38.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.58 JMD 406

-26.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.99 JMD 472

-61.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.44 JMD 227

-18.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$9.33 JMD 1,471

-53.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.27 JMD 1,776

-11.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.92 JMD 460

-45.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.94 JMD 622

-32.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.22 JMD 193

307.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.23 JMD 509

3.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.36 JMD 1,002

-15.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.47 JMD 232

-2.04%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.7K JMD 6.9M

-52.72%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$32.6K JMD 5.1M

-28.06%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$166 JMD 26.2K

-49.01%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$29.95 JMD 4,722

-21.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$51.9 JMD 8,179

-44.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$13.26 JMD 2,090

-61.24%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$362 JMD 57.0K

-42.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,121 JMD 1.3M

-51.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$23.75 JMD 3,745

82.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$30.90 JMD 4,873

34.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$76.9 JMD 12.1K

-3.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$104 JMD 16.4K

-13.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,005 JMD 158.5K

-2.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.45

21.16%

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 Negril: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Negril

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Negril

$378 40.8% 48.3% $123

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Negril

$151 16.3% 25.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Negril

$248 26.8% 81.3% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Negril

$106 11.4% 5.2% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Negril

$27 * 2.9% 60.6% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Negril

$17 * 1.9% 65.6% $33

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 $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,005 in Negril. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $49 in Negril for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $378 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇲 Negril

🕒 Local time

13:00 1:00 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,779

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Negril 950 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Negril

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 Negril: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Negril differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $927 including rent). Negril is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,390 in Negril to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,005 in Negril. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $362 in Negril. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $49 in Negril. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $927 in Negril versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Negril but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Negril 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.