Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Paihia Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Paihia

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 4.1% cheaper than Paihia without rent, and 33.5% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 27.6% cheaper than Paihia without rent, and 19.2% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.99 MX$227
$15.36 NZ$25.34
-21.94%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.47 MX$803
$36.28 NZ$59.8
17.06%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.47 MX$198
$8.92 NZ$14.71
17.38%
Cappuccino
$3.6 MX$68.2
$3.54 NZ$5.83
1.69%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.44 MX$27.16
$2.29 NZ$3.77
-37.12%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.89 MX$16.79
$2.18 NZ$3.6
-59.17%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 MX$58.5
$7.39 NZ$12.18
-58.19%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.58 MX$86.6
$7.32 NZ$12.07
-37.43%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 MX$26.04
$1.74 NZ$2.86
-20.69%
White Bread (500g)
$1.85 MX$34.9
$2.05 NZ$3.38
-9.76%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 MX$29.68
$1.97 NZ$3.25
-20.30%
Eggs
$2.55 MX$48.3
$6.76 NZ$11.14
-62.28%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$163
$8.46 NZ$13.95
1.77%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$9.74 NZ$16.07
-12.32%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.98 MX$208
$12.8 NZ$21.11
-14.22%
Apples (1kg)
$2.72 MX$51.4
$2.78 NZ$4.58
-2.16%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.57
$2.21 NZ$3.64
-31.67%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 MX$35.63
$3.31 NZ$5.46
-43.20%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.42
$4.12 NZ$6.8
-46.84%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 MX$35.3
$2.07 NZ$3.41
-9.66%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.37
$1.68 NZ$2.78
30.36%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.23
$1.96 NZ$3.23
-45.41%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.64
$1.25 NZ$2.05
-12.80%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 MX$74.9
$25.41 NZ$41.91
-84.42%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.86 MX$167
$11.63 NZ$19.18
-23.82%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.72 MX$32.53
$3.05 NZ$5.03
-43.61%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 MX$49.37
$3.94 NZ$6.49
-33.76%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.74
$2.14 NZ$3.52
-75.70%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.59 MX$503
$62.9 NZ$104
-57.75%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 MX$61.2
$1.8 NZ$2.97
80.00%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 MX$44.94
$1.98 NZ$3.27
20.20%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$58.7
$35.47 NZ$58.5
-91.23%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 MX$24.85
$1.64 NZ$2.71
-20.12%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K MX$573K
$28.9K NZ$47.7K
4.85%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24K MX$453.6K
$21.8K NZ$36K
10.04%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$145 NZ$239
-41.93%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.14 MX$419
$30.41 NZ$50.2
-27.20%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.14 MX$570
$48.57 NZ$80.1
-37.95%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52 MX$983
$37.43 NZ$61.7
38.87%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.72 MX$354
$11.87 NZ$19.58
57.71%
Cinema Ticket
$5.07 MX$95.9
$15.25 NZ$25.16
-66.75%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,787
$916 NZ$1,511
-78.14%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,333 MX$100.8K
$13.6K NZ$22.4K
-60.79%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.74 MX$676
$69.3 NZ$114
-48.45%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.8 MX$753
$51 NZ$84.1
-21.93%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79 MX$1,493
$99.1 NZ$163
-20.30%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,671
$127 NZ$210
-30.55%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$965 MX$18.3K
$957 NZ$1,578
0.90%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$474 MX$8,968
$792 NZ$1,307
-40.12%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,653 MX$31.2K
$1,569 NZ$2,588
5.31%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,202 MX$22.7K
$1,443 NZ$2,380
-16.70%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,081 MX$58.3K
$4,536 NZ$7,481
-32.07%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,529 MX$142.3K
$3,750 NZ$6,185
100.78%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Paihia
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$792 MX$15K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
6.37
79.28%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Paihia: October 29, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.