Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Old Harbour

For one person, living is cheaper in Old Harbour: $1,005 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Old Harbour
Learn more

Old Harbour Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Old Harbour

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,005

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Old Harbour

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,005 in Old Harbour.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Old Harbour $1,005

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,664 in Old Harbour.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Old Harbour $1,664

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,322 in Old Harbour.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Old Harbour $2,322

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 20% more expensive than in Old Harbour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Old Harbour 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$13.35 JMD 2,105

-18.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$75.0 JMD 11.8K

-42.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$8.40 JMD 1,324

40.24%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.23 JMD 824

-27.15%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.14 JMD 179

12.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.73 JMD 115

6.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.19 JMD 345

44.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.22 JMD 508

53.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$4.24 JMD 668

-66.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$3.83 JMD 604

-42.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.56 JMD 245

-8.97%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.47 JMD 548

-27.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.44 JMD 1,804

-36.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.34 JMD 1,000

21.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.13 JMD 1,598

25.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$6.06 JMD 956

-54.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$4.00 JMD 631

-65.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$7.38 JMD 1,163

-65.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$3.01 JMD 474

-29.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$3.23 JMD 509

-39.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.60 JMD 411

-27.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$3.02 JMD 477

-61.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.50 JMD 236

-21.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$9.31 JMD 1,467

-53.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.26 JMD 1,776

-11.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.85 JMD 449

-44.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.93 JMD 620

-32.06%

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

$1.28 JMD 202

288.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.23 JMD 509

3.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.45 JMD 1,018

-16.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.46 JMD 231

-1.37%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.9K JMD 6.9M

-52.94%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$32.4K JMD 5.1M

-27.49%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$165 JMD 26.0K

-48.65%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$29.91 JMD 4,716

-21.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$53.8 JMD 8,485

-46.74%

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

$13.48 JMD 2,126

-61.87%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$358 JMD 56.5K

-42.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,285 JMD 1.3M

-52.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$23.81 JMD 3,755

82.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$31.92 JMD 5,034

29.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$78.5 JMD 12.4K

-5.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$102 JMD 16.1K

-12.50%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.45

21.16%

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 Old Harbour: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Old Harbour

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Old Harbour

$386 38.4% 51.4% $131

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Old Harbour

$220 21.9% 8.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Old Harbour

$249 24.8% 81.8% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Old Harbour

$106 10.6% 4.8% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Old Harbour

$27 * 2.7% 59.9% $40

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Old Harbour

$17 * 1.7% 65.5% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $75 in Old Harbour for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $386 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇲 Old Harbour

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

26,024

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, 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).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Old Harbour 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Old Harbour

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 Old Harbour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Old Harbour differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,005 including rent). Old Harbour is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,507 in Old Harbour 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.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $358 in Old Harbour. 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 $75 in Old Harbour. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Old Harbour 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.