Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Neuquen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,261 in Neuquen, rent and utilities included – about $710 less a year. The total is higher in Neuquen despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Neuquen
Learn more

Neuquen Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Neuquen

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,261

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,261 in Neuquen.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Neuquen $1,261

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,110 in Neuquen.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Neuquen $2,110

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,959 in Neuquen.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Neuquen $2,959

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 5% less than in Neuquen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Neuquen 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$16.75 ARS 26.0K

-36.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$56.7 ARS 88.0K

-22.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$13.17 ARS 20.4K

-10.48%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$3.74 ARS 5,793

1.34%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$2.18 ARS 3,372

-40.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$1.85 ARS 2,865

-55.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$3.65 ARS 5,652

-13.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$4.16 ARS 6,448

18.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.41 ARS 2,183

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$2.28 ARS 3,533

-3.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.85 ARS 2,873

-20.54%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.71 ARS 4,207

-7.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$11.94 ARS 18.5K

-38.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$7.74 ARS 12.0K

2.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$11.49 ARS 17.8K

11.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.36 ARS 3,666

22.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$2.24 ARS 3,481

-38.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.57 ARS 2,441

58.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$2.73 ARS 4,230

-25.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.11 ARS 1,713

81.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$0.95 ARS 1,473

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.47 ARS 2,277

-15.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$3.24 ARS 5,031

31.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$5.10 ARS 7,906

92.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$2.03 ARS 3,143

-21.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$3.29 ARS 5,100

-16.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.97 ARS 1,506

-47.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.54 ARS 2,386

209.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.19 ARS 1,853

28.57%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$25.1K ARS 38.9M

-15.54%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$32.4K ARS 50.2M

-28.11%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$124 ARS 191.5K

-32.41%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$16.73 ARS 25.9K

38.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$23.69 ARS 36.7K

16.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$31.11 ARS 48.2K

81.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$20.48 ARS 31.8K

37.65%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$9.03 ARS 14.0K

-44.63%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$233 ARS 361.6K

-11.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$4,282 ARS 6.6M

22.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$112 ARS 173.2K

-61.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$81.7 ARS 126.7K

-47.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$111 ARS 172.3K

-34.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$114 ARS 176.8K

-22.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$522 ARS 808.7K

90.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$334 ARS 517.8K

14.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,050 ARS 1.6M

59.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$816 ARS 1.3M

32.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,255 ARS 1.9M

388.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Neuquen: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Neuquen

$334 26.5% 12.7% $48

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Neuquen

$259 * 20.6% 0.7% $1.7

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Neuquen

$261 20.7% 30.3% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Neuquen

$164 13% 22.1% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Neuquen

$188 14.9% 69.4% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Neuquen

$49 3.9% 26% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Neuquen

$5.4 * 0.4% 89.3% $45

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 $995 in Playa del Carmen and $522 in Neuquen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $57 in Neuquen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $259 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇷 Neuquen

🕒 Local time

13:30 1:30 PM

15:30 3:30 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

288,896

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.45 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,551 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,738 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Neuquen 6,920 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Neuquen

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 Neuquen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,261 in Neuquen, so Playa del Carmen is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,892 in Neuquen 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $522 in Neuquen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $233 in Neuquen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,261 in Neuquen – Playa del Carmen is about 5% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.