Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ongata Rongai

For one person, living is cheaper in Ongata Rongai: $572 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Ongata Rongai
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Ongata Rongai Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ongata Rongai

🇰🇪 Kenya

$572

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ongata Rongai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $572 in Ongata Rongai.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ongata Rongai $572

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $881 in Ongata Rongai.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ongata Rongai $881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,190 in Ongata Rongai.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ongata Rongai $1,190

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 111% more expensive than in Ongata Rongai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Ongata Rongai 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.56 KES 851

66.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$19.07 KES 2,475

127.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.20 KES 805

90.00%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$1.95 KES 253

95.38%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.29 KES 38.27

341.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.39 KES 50.9

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.29 KES 297

38.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$2.71 KES 352

81.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$0.44 KES 57.7

220.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.48 KES 61.9

362.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.58 KES 205

-10.13%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.37 KES 178

83.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$4.35 KES 565

66.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.51 KES 456

119.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$3.37 KES 438

276.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.25 KES 162

122.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.08 KES 140

26.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.18 KES 153

116.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$0.65 KES 84.2

226.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.73 KES 95.2

165.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.48 KES 62.4

293.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.71 KES 91.9

61.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.48 KES 62.7

145.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$2.29 KES 297

87.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$9.03 KES 1,173

10.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$2.20 KES 285

-28.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.80 KES 363

-4.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$1.58 KES 205

214.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.51 KES 196

120.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$2.93 KES 381

82.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.55 KES 201

-7.10%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$19.4K KES 2.5M

6.68%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$22.1K KES 2.9M

6.17%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$54.8 KES 7,115

54.70%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$14.99 KES 1,946

56.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$35.02 KES 4,546

-18.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$7.69 KES 998

-33.16%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$273 KES 35.4K

-24.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$12.4K KES 1.6M

-68.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$27.87 KES 3,617

55.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$29.51 KES 3,830

40.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$69.7 KES 9,052

6.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$59.5 KES 7,725

49.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$156 KES 20.3K

525.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$116 KES 15.0K

229.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$233 KES 30.2K

633.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$233 KES 30.3K

361.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.71

-22.16%

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 Ongata Rongai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ongata Rongai

$116 20.2% 69.6% $265

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ongata Rongai

$129 22.5% 49.4% $126

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ongata Rongai

$114 20% 43.6% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ongata Rongai

$105 18.3% 23.4% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ongata Rongai

$84 14.7% 24.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ongata Rongai

$15 * 2.7% 77.2% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ongata Rongai

$9.1 * 1.6% 81.9% $41

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 $156 in Ongata Rongai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $19 in Ongata Rongai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $129 per month, with Ongata Rongai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇪 Ongata Rongai

🕒 Local time

11:51 11:51 AM

19:51 7:51 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

172,569

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ongata Rongai 13,560 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ongata Rongai

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 Ongata Rongai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ongata Rongai is about 53% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $858 in Ongata Rongai 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 $156 in Ongata Rongai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $273 in Ongata Rongai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ongata Rongai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $572 in Ongata Rongai versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ongata Rongai but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ongata Rongai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.