Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nicaragua

Name: Nicaragua
Address: NI

For one person, living is cheaper in Nicaragua: $946 a month against $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Nicaragua
Learn more

Nicaragua Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$946

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 37.4% more expensive than Nicaragua without rent, and 28.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 25.2% more expensive than Nicaragua without rent, and 50.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$4.95 NIO 181

121.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$30.88 NIO 1,131

45.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$7.80 NIO 286

52.82%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$2.36 NIO 86.5

61.02%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$0.89 NIO 32.75

47.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$0.66 NIO 24.09

30.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$1.34 NIO 48.91

139.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$1.96 NIO 71.6

155.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$1.21 NIO 44.22

20.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$2.08 NIO 76.0

12.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$1.66 NIO 60.7

-13.25%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$2.25 NIO 82.5

9.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$9.34 NIO 342

-17.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$5.96 NIO 218

32.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$8.06 NIO 295

58.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$4.73 NIO 173

-38.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$0.81 NIO 29.68

75.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$1.95 NIO 71.6

31.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$2.34 NIO 85.7

-8.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$3.80 NIO 139

-48.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$2.29 NIO 83.9

-15.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.08 NIO 39.44

6.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$1.04 NIO 37.95

17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$3.61 NIO 132

21.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$13.20 NIO 483

-25.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.47 NIO 53.8

4.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$2.16 NIO 79.2

25.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$0.15 NIO 5.36

246.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$6.02 NIO 221

355.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$1.54 NIO 56.5

218.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$1.48 NIO 54.1

137.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$6.64 NIO 243

-14.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.31 NIO 48.15

17.56%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$23.1K NIO 845.1K

-7.96%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$25.9K NIO 947.3K

-5.33%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$113 NIO 4,138

-25.99%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$17.92 NIO 656

34.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$36.87 NIO 1,350

-20.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$34.42 NIO 1,260

88.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$15.17 NIO 556

94.20%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$9.29 NIO 340

-45.21%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$234 NIO 8,583

-11.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$6,687 NIO 244.9K

-39.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$54.1 NIO 1,981

-17.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$44.45 NIO 1,628

-5.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$113 NIO 4,155

-33.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$123 NIO 4,514

-25.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$359 NIO 13.1K

175.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$212 NIO 7,768

81.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$612 NIO 22.4K

180.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$463 NIO 17.0K

139.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$1,205 NIO 44.1K

233.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$671 NIO 24.6K

830.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$353 NIO 12.9K

114.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.94

-4.10%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nicaragua: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Nicaragua

$212 22.2% 44.9% $173

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Nicaragua

$249 26.1% 4.2% $11

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Nicaragua

$108 11.3% 47% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Nicaragua

$168 17.5% 22.5% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Nicaragua

$151 15.8% 32.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Nicaragua

$53 5.5% 29.4% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Nicaragua

$16 1.6% 70.1% $37

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

🕒 Local time

05:52 5:52 AM

04:52 4:52 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

6,676,948

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.04 NIO (100 NIO = 2.44 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nicaragua

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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