Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Onchan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,409 in Onchan, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. The total is higher in Onchan despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Onchan
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Onchan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Onchan

🇮🇲 Isle of Man

$1,409

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,409 in Onchan.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Onchan $1,409

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,277 in Onchan.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Onchan $2,277

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,145 in Onchan.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Onchan $3,145

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 15% less than in Onchan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Onchan is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$28.20 IMP 21.07

-61.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$120 IMP 89.7

-63.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$11.95 IMP 8.92

-1.42%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$5.21 IMP 3.89

-26.87%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.71 IMP 2.02

-52.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$2.19 IMP 1.63

-64.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$6.68 IMP 4.99

-52.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$5.88 IMP 4.39

-16.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.88 IMP 1.41

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.65 IMP 1.98

-16.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$2.03 IMP 1.51

-30.05%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$5.51 IMP 4.11

-54.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.02 IMP 5.99

-9.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$8.80 IMP 6.58

-12.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.60 IMP 9.41

0.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.09 IMP 2.31

-10.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.81 IMP 1.35

-24.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$3.79 IMP 2.83

-32.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$3.51 IMP 2.62

-39.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$3.09 IMP 2.31

-37.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$2.97 IMP 2.22

-36.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$2.05 IMP 1.53

-43.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$2.63 IMP 1.96

-55.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$23.04 IMP 17.21

-81.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$11.79 IMP 8.80

-15.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$4.44 IMP 3.32

-64.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$4.27 IMP 3.19

-37.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$4.93 IMP 3.68

0.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.51 IMP 1.13

120.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$80.7 IMP 60.3

-93.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$2.02 IMP 1.51

-28.71%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$44.2K IMP 33.0K

-53.27%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$44.3K IMP 33.1K

-47.08%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$346 IMP 258

-75.48%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$61.3 IMP 45.77

-61.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$72.6 IMP 54.2

-60.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$16.33 IMP 12.20

-68.52%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$1,747 IMP 1,305

-88.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$53.7K IMP 40.1K

-92.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$100 IMP 74.8

-56.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$44.19 IMP 33.01

-6.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$110 IMP 82.4

-32.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$69.1 IMP 51.6

29.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.76

140.55%

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 Onchan: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Onchan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Onchan

$350 24.8% 37.2% $95

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Onchan

$389 27.6% 92.1% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Onchan

$480 34% 251% $343

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Onchan

$146 10.3% 30.4% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Onchan

$33 * 2.3% 51.5% $35

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Onchan

$12 * 0.9% 75.2% $38

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 $120 in Onchan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $350 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇲 Onchan

🕒 Local time

23:48 11:48 PM

04:48 4:48 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

26,218

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Isle of Man Pound IMP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 IMP = 1.34 USD

1 IMP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IMP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Isle of Man Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 IMP (1 IMP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 IMP (1 IMP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Onchan 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Onchan

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 Onchan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Onchan. 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 $2,113 in Onchan 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 $1,747 in Onchan. 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 $120 in Onchan. 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.