Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Negros

For one person, living is cheaper in Negros: $741 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Negros
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Negros Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Negros

🇵🇭 Philippines

$741

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $741 in Negros, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Negros $741

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,093 in Negros, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Negros $1,093

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,445 in Negros, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Negros $1,445

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Negros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Negros are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Negros 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$206

$3.22 ₱206

239.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$818

$11.88 ₱759

265.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$222

$2.70 ₱172

336.30%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.9

$1.38 ₱87.9

176.09%

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

$1.28 MX$24.19

$0.69 ₱44.19

85.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.77

$0.41 ₱25.99

90.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.7

$1.14 ₱72.5

178.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$93.1

$1.90 ₱121

159.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.53

$1.90 ₱122

-25.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.82

$1.13 ₱72.4

96.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.73

$0.97 ₱61.8

46.39%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.59

$1.92 ₱123

31.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$9.50 ₱607

-23.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.35 ₱277

77.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$7.27 ₱464

74.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.5

$3.29 ₱210

-15.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.81

$1.35 ₱86.3

1.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$48.12

$2.36 ₱151

8.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$40.05

$1.45 ₱92.4

46.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.56

$2.30 ₱147

-15.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.58

$1.92 ₱122

-1.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.63

$1.10 ₱70.5

4.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.24

$0.60 ₱38.45

96.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$81.0

$2.93 ₱187

46.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$188

$6.23 ₱398

59.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.87

$1.21 ₱77.5

30.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.4

$1.70 ₱108

57.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.44

$0.25 ₱15.73

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$502

$11.20 ₱715

137.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.7

$0.73 ₱46.72

580.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.8

$0.22 ₱14.05

1413.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.89 ₱121

183.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.24

$1.36 ₱86.7

5.88%

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

$20.7K MX$389.8K

$21.2K ₱1.4M

-2.67%

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

$23.5K MX$442.6K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

23.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,599

$118 ₱7,507

-27.89%

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

$23.41 MX$442

$15.78 ₱1,008

48.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$541

$27.98 ₱1,786

2.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,076

$32.93 ₱2,103

73.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$545

$5.62 ₱359

414.41%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.9

$5.32 ₱340

-3.38%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$131 ₱8,387

57.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$74.1K

$7,971 ₱508.9K

-50.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$818

$33.13 ₱2,115

30.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$782

$19.33 ₱1,234

114.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,400

$75.9 ₱4,844

-2.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,684

$56.0 ₱3,575

59.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.5K

$270 ₱17.2K

263.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,184

$175 ₱11.2K

117.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.2K

$480 ₱30.6K

256.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.3K

$308 ₱19.6K

249.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.4K

$2,799 ₱178.7K

40.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$116.2K

$1,194 ₱76.2K

415.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.9K

$232 ₱14.8K

216.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

63.57%

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 Negros: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Negros

$175 23.6% 54% $206

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Negros

$200 26.9% 21.7% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Negros

$64 8.7% 68.3% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Negros

$161 21.8% 17.9% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Negros

$83 11.2% 25.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Negros

$44 5.9% 35.3% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Negros

$14 1.9% 72.2% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $270 in Negros. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $12 in Negros. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $200 – making Negros the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Negros

🕒 Local time

20:16 8:16 PM

09:16 9:16 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,414,131

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.3 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 18.86 MXN (100 MXN = 5.3 USD). 1 EUR = 21.02 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 63.85 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.15 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Negros 15,280 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Negros

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 Negros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 63%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,111 in Negros. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Negros, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $270 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 58% less in Negros. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $131 in Negros. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Negros, where all-in costs run around $741, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Negros it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Negros – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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