Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nelson

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,865 in Nelson, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,865 in Nelson.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nelson $1,865

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,872 in Nelson.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nelson $2,872

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,879 in Nelson.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Nelson $3,879

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 35% less than in Nelson, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Nelson is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$13.72 NZ$24.40

-20.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$64.8 NZ$115

-33.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.27 NZ$14.71

42.44%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.19 NZ$5.66

19.44%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.82 NZ$3.23

-29.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.65 NZ$2.94

-52.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$7.61 NZ$13.52

-58.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$5.84 NZ$10.38

-15.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.93 NZ$3.43

-26.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.19 NZ$3.89

1.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.96 NZ$3.48

-27.55%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$5.85 NZ$10.40

-56.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$9.13 NZ$16.22

-20.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$7.62 NZ$13.54

1.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$13.65 NZ$24.26

-7.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.15 NZ$5.61

-11.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.15 NZ$3.82

-36.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.00 NZ$5.33

-15.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$5.63 NZ$10.01

-62.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$2.07 NZ$3.68

-6.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.23 NZ$2.19

53.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$2.02 NZ$3.60

-43.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.08 NZ$1.92

9.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$25.87 NZ$45.99

-83.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.94 NZ$17.66

0.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$3.14 NZ$5.58

-49.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.81 NZ$5.00

-4.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$2.20 NZ$3.92

-75.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.83 NZ$3.25

171.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.79 NZ$3.18

86.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$33.80 NZ$60.1

-84.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.56 NZ$2.77

-7.69%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

21.15%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

4.98%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$130 NZ$231

-34.87%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$32.93 NZ$58.5

-28.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$43.70 NZ$77.7

-34.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$101 NZ$179

-43.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$34.48 NZ$61.3

-16.15%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$11.14 NZ$19.81

-53.86%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$458 NZ$814

-54.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

-70.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$52.9 NZ$94.1

-18.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$28.57 NZ$50.8

45.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$104 NZ$185

-28.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$143 NZ$254

-37.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,023 NZ$1,819

-4.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$813 NZ$1,445

-53.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,755 NZ$3,120

-2.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,455 NZ$2,586

-26.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,396 NZ$2,482

182.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$852 NZ$1,514

622.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,043 NZ$3,632

-64.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.39

112.43%

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 Nelson: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Nelson

$813 43.6% 113% $432

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Nelson

$319 17.1% 25.1% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Nelson

$236 12.7% 16.8% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nelson

$207 11.1% 51.1% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nelson

$148 7.9% 32.2% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Nelson

$123 6.6% 82.5% $56

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nelson

$20 * 1.1% 61.2% $31

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 $1,023 in Nelson. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nelson pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $65 in Nelson for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $319 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Nelson

🕒 Local time

22:50 10:50 PM

16:50 4:50 PM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

51,100

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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 = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nelson 12,290 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nelson

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 Nelson: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 35% lower than in Nelson. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $1,023 in Nelson. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $458 in Nelson. 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 $65 in Nelson. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,865 in Nelson, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Nelson. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Nelson on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.