Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nueve de Julio

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,382 in Nueve de Julio, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Nueve de Julio
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Nueve de Julio Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nueve de Julio

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,382

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Nueve de Julio

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 Nueve de Julio actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,382 in Nueve de Julio.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nueve de Julio $1,382

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,345 in Nueve de Julio.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nueve de Julio $2,345

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,308 in Nueve de Julio.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Nueve de Julio $3,308

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 13% less than in Nueve de Julio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Nueve de Julio is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$17.94 ARS 27.7K

-39.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$66.1 ARS 102.1K

-34.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$12.96 ARS 20.0K

-9.10%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$3.74 ARS 5,773

1.87%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$2.10 ARS 3,245

-39.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$1.67 ARS 2,579

-53.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$3.95 ARS 6,096

-19.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$4.71 ARS 7,278

4.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.04 ARS 1,604

35.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$2.56 ARS 3,960

-13.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.59 ARS 2,463

-10.69%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$1.22 ARS 1,880

106.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.88 ARS 16.8K

-33.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$10.07 ARS 15.6K

-23.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$13.66 ARS 21.1K

-7.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$2.87 ARS 4,441

-3.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$2.20 ARS 3,393

-37.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.39 ARS 2,144

83.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$2.00 ARS 3,082

6.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.26 ARS 1,951

53.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$1.15 ARS 1,779

64.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$1.02 ARS 1,581

12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$1.01 ARS 1,563

16.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$1.02 ARS 1,575

321.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.66 ARS 8,737

75.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.40 ARS 2,162

12.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$2.02 ARS 3,113

32.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$1.08 ARS 1,672

-49.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$1.64 ARS 2,531

203.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$0.99 ARS 1,526

236.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$8.10 ARS 12.5K

-33.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.38 ARS 2,125

4.35%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$23.7K ARS 36.6M

-12.80%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$32.6K ARS 50.3M

-27.99%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$200 ARS 308.3K

-57.51%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$23.92 ARS 37.0K

-2.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$31.35 ARS 48.4K

-8.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$27.52 ARS 42.5K

107.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$23.49 ARS 36.3K

23.07%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$10.80 ARS 16.7K

-52.41%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$233 ARS 360.3K

-11.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$4,152 ARS 6.4M

-5.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$123 ARS 189.4K

-64.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$97.4 ARS 150.5K

-57.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$117 ARS 181.4K

-36.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$141 ARS 217.4K

-36.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$441 ARS 680.7K

122.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$321 ARS 496.5K

18.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$920 ARS 1.4M

85.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$920 ARS 1.4M

16.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$1,409 ARS 2.2M

337.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

57.25

-80.00%

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 Nueve de Julio: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Nueve de Julio

$321 23.3% 15.6% $59

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Nueve de Julio

$259 18.7% 1.7% $4.2

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Nueve de Julio

$271 19.7% 34.2% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nueve de Julio

$255 18.4% 86.2% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nueve de Julio

$215 15.6% 92.6% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Nueve de Julio

$49 3.6% 27% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nueve de Julio

$11 * 0.8% 78.4% $40

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 $441 in Nueve de Julio. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $66 in Nueve de Julio for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $259 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇷 Nueve de Julio

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

06:32 6:32 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

30,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,730 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nueve de Julio 6,280 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nueve de Julio

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 Nueve de Julio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Nueve de Julio. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,073 in Nueve de Julio 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $441 in Nueve de Julio. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,382 in Nueve de Julio – Playa del Carmen is about 13% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $66 in Nueve de Julio. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.