Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Benin

For one person, living is cheaper in Benin: $445 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Benin
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Benin Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Benin

🇳🇬 Nigeria

$445

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $445 in Benin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Benin $445

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $753 in Benin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Benin $753

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,061 in Benin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Benin $1,061

Playa del Carmen costs about 170% more than Benin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Benin are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Benin 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$1.29 ₦1,727

746.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$49.53 ₦66.4K

-12.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$5.72 ₦7,661

105.94%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.82 ₦3,786

35.11%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.29 ₦390

341.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.20 ₦264

290.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$0.93 ₦1,249

240.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$0.99 ₦1,333

397.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$3.05 ₦4,092

-53.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.77 ₦1,026

188.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.24 ₦1,665

14.52%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.19 ₦2,939

15.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$3.55 ₦4,764

104.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.93 ₦5,264

95.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$4.41 ₦5,908

187.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.65 ₦2,206

68.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.26 ₦1,688

8.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.08 ₦1,445

136.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.47 ₦1,970

44.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.55 ₦2,074

25.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.58 ₦2,120

19.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.89 ₦1,194

29.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.36 ₦487

227.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$0.54 ₦730

696.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$2.44 ₦3,267

307.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.51 ₦683

209.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$0.46 ₦614

480.43%

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

$0.68 ₦914

630.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.89 ₦1,189

274.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.22 ₦2,982

141.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.73 ₦981

97.26%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$11.2K ₦14.9M

85.32%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$28.7K ₦38.4M

-18.14%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$111 ₦148.5K

-23.50%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$14.93 ₦20.0K

56.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$32.50 ₦43.6K

-11.82%

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

$6.22 ₦8,332

-17.36%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$668 ₦894.8K

-69.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$19.6K ₦26.2M

-79.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$14.65 ₦19.6K

195.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$17.85 ₦23.9K

132.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$36.59 ₦49.0K

102.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$48.06 ₦64.4K

85.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

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

$113 ₦151.1K

551.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

18.39

-37.74%

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 Benin: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Benin

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Benin

$147 33% 42.3% $108

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Benin

$70 15.7% 65.4% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Benin

$158 35.5% 15.6% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Benin

$53 11.8% 52.8% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Benin

$12 * 2.8% 81.5% $55

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Benin

$5.1 * 1.2% 89.9% $45

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 6.5 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 $50 in Benin. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $147 in Benin – so Benin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇬 Benin

🕒 Local time

18:19 6:19 PM

00:19 12:19 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,147,188

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nigerian Naira NGN ₦

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 NGN = 7.46 USD

10,000 NGN = 6.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NGN, 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).

Nigerian Naira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 NGN (10,000 NGN = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,492 NGN (10,000 NGN = 6.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Benin 10,040 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Benin

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 Benin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 170% more than Benin, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $668 in Benin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $445 in Benin. That makes Benin about 63% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $668 in Benin. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Benin, where all-in costs run around $445, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Benin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $445 in Benin to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Benin. 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.