Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Otsu

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,297 in Otsu, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Otsu
Learn more

Otsu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Otsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,297

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,297 in Otsu.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Otsu $1,297

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,890 in Otsu.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Otsu $1,890

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,482 in Otsu.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Otsu $2,482

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 7% less than in Otsu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Otsu 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$8.43 ¥1,331

29.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$31.93 ¥5,043

35.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.13 ¥810

129.63%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.12 ¥494

22.12%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.18 ¥187

8.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.90 ¥142

-13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$3.19 ¥504

-0.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$4.51 ¥712

9.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.53 ¥242

-7.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.55 ¥245

43.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$4.52 ¥714

-68.58%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$2.14 ¥338

17.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$15.67 ¥2,475

-53.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.88 ¥1,086

11.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$17.21 ¥2,718

-26.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$4.95 ¥782

-43.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$2.49 ¥393

-44.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$4.97 ¥785

-48.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$4.42 ¥698

-52.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.20 ¥348

-11.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.87 ¥295

1.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.19 ¥187

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.87 ¥137

35.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.97 ¥627

8.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$9.69 ¥1,530

2.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$2.06 ¥326

-23.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.19 ¥345

21.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$1.49 ¥235

-63.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$57.5 ¥9,080

-53.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.26 ¥514

52.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$2.85 ¥450

16.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$28.41 ¥4,486

-81.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.12 ¥177

28.57%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

-6.77%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

53.74%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$118 ¥18.6K

-27.97%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$23.18 ¥3,661

0.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$30.70 ¥4,849

-6.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$50.9 ¥8,042

12.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$9.46 ¥1,494

205.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$12.85 ¥2,029

-60.00%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$700 ¥110.6K

-70.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$12.6K ¥2.0M

-68.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$55.5 ¥8,766

-21.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$36.05 ¥5,693

14.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$69.5 ¥11.0K

6.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$97.1 ¥15.3K

-8.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$443 ¥69.9K

121.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$366 ¥57.9K

3.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$623 ¥98.4K

174.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$461 ¥72.9K

133.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$4,199 ¥663.1K

-6.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$2,274 ¥359.2K

170.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,818 ¥287.0K

-59.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.1

445.24%

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 Otsu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Otsu

$366 28.3% 3.8% $14

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Otsu

$332 25.6% 30.2% $77

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Otsu

$154 11.8% 24.1% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Otsu

$172 13.2% 25.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Otsu

$116 9% 4% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Otsu

$77 5.9% 13.8% $9.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Otsu

$81 6.2% 60.4% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $443 in Otsu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Otsu pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $32 in Otsu. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $332, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Otsu

🕒 Local time

13:22 1:22 PM

03:22 3:22 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

341,314

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Otsu 12,350 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
Otsu

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 Otsu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Otsu. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 60% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $443 in Otsu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $700 in Otsu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Otsu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Playa del Carmen 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Otsu on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.