Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pakenham

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,643 in Pakenham, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Pakenham
Learn more

Pakenham Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Pakenham

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,643 in Pakenham.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Pakenham $2,643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,761 in Pakenham.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Pakenham $3,761

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,880 in Pakenham.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Pakenham $4,880

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 54% less than in Pakenham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Pakenham is 94% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$17.34 A$24.76

-37.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$83.4 A$119

-47.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$12.08 A$17.25

-2.48%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$4.02 A$5.74

-5.22%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$3.21 A$4.58

-60.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$2.47 A$3.52

-68.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$9.56 A$13.66

-66.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$8.47 A$12.10

-41.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.21 A$1.72

16.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$2.87 A$4.09

-22.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$2.61 A$3.72

-45.59%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$5.61 A$8.01

-55.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.49 A$12.13

-14.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.78 A$13.97

-21.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$15.29 A$21.83

-17.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$3.98 A$5.69

-30.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$2.62 A$3.75

-47.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$3.13 A$4.47

-18.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$4.74 A$6.78

-55.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$2.99 A$4.27

-35.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$2.57 A$3.67

-26.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$2.43 A$3.47

-52.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$1.63 A$2.33

-27.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$25.16 A$35.93

-82.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.63 A$18.04

-21.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$5.48 A$7.82

-71.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$5.17 A$7.39

-48.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$3.08 A$4.39

-82.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$73.7 A$105

-63.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$4.36 A$6.22

13.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$1.43 A$2.04

132.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$30.36 A$43.35

-82.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.43 A$2.05

0.70%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$29.1K A$41.5K

-28.93%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$26.4K A$37.8K

-11.25%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$236 A$337

-64.06%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$28.14 A$40.19

-16.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$57.8 A$82.6

-50.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$64.3 A$91.9

-11.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$19.50 A$27.85

48.26%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$17.55 A$25.06

-70.71%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$2,515 A$3,592

-91.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$30.4K A$43.4K

-87.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$80.5 A$115

-46.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$49.90 A$71.3

-16.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$119 A$169

-37.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$133 A$190

-33.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,463 A$2,089

-33.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$1,269 A$1,813

-70.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$2,148 A$3,068

-20.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,855 A$2,649

-42.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$5,533 A$7,902

-28.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$5,458 A$7,795

12.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.9

94.07%

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 Pakenham: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Pakenham

$1.3K 48% 233% $888

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Pakenham

$372 14.1% 46.1% $117

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Pakenham

$311 11.8% 53.5% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Pakenham

$322 12.2% 135% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Pakenham

$172 6.5% 54% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Pakenham

$99 3.8% 47.7% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Pakenham

$98 3.7% 93.4% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,463 in Pakenham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $83 in Pakenham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $372 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Pakenham

🕒 Local time

00:00 12:00 AM

16:00 4:00 PM

16 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

54,118

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

1 AUD = 0.7 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.7 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Pakenham 14,640 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pakenham

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 Pakenham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Pakenham. 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 $3,964 in Pakenham 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 $1,463 in Pakenham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,515 in Pakenham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Pakenham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,643 in Pakenham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Pakenham. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Pakenham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.