Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Paks

For one person, living is cheaper in Paks: $1,143 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $710 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Paks
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Paks Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Paks

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,143 in Paks.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Paks $1,143

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,717 in Paks.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Paks $1,717

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,291 in Paks.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Paks $2,291

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 5% more expensive than in Paks, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Paks 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$8.59 Ft 2,799

24.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$30.02 Ft 9,787

45.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.22 Ft 2,354

63.30%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$0.86 Ft 282

340.70%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.14 Ft 372

14.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.83 Ft 269

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.18 Ft 386

166.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.92 Ft 626

156.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.15 Ft 376

22.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.60 Ft 194

266.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.41 Ft 787

-39.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.32 Ft 1,081

-24.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$10.84 Ft 3,534

-32.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$6.03 Ft 1,966

31.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.72 Ft 4,471

-6.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.83 Ft 598

58.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.01 Ft 656

-31.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.09 Ft 681

19.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$3.99 Ft 1,302

-49.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.58 Ft 188

248.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.53 Ft 173

258.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.56 Ft 509

-26.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.47 Ft 154

163.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$7.69 Ft 2,507

-44.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.23 Ft 2,030

57.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.27 Ft 413

25.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.62 Ft 529

69.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.23 Ft 402

-58.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$26.53 Ft 8,649

3.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.08 Ft 1,006

54.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.51 Ft 491

115.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$17.94 Ft 5,847

-69.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.88 Ft 613

-18.62%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$32.1K Ft 10.5M

-33.95%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$36.2K Ft 11.8M

-35.73%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$135 Ft 43.9K

-37.94%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$10.17 Ft 3,315

128.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$12.02 Ft 3,919

129.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$50.7 Ft 16.5K

11.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$18.16 Ft 5,919

55.23%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.45 Ft 2,430

-32.89%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$250 Ft 81.6K

-17.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$7,542 Ft 2.5M

-30.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$89.9 Ft 29.3K

-51.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$13.75 Ft 4,481

209.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$96.8 Ft 31.6K

-24.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$108 Ft 35.1K

-17.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$534 Ft 173.9K

86.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$391 Ft 127.3K

-2.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$746 Ft 243.2K

124.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$646 Ft 210.5K

67.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$3,203 Ft 1.0M

22.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,439 Ft 795.2K

151.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,287 Ft 419.4K

-35.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.25

38.79%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Paks: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Paks

$391 34.2% 2.2% $8.3

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Paks

$231 20.2% 10.4% $27

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Paks

$118 10.4% 40.9% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Paks

$157 13.7% 16.7% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Paks

$139 12.1% 24.7% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Paks

$66 5.7% 1.2% $0.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Paks

$42 3.7% 16.6% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $534 in Paks. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Paks pays 55% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $30 in Paks for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $231 per month, with Paks cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇭🇺 Paks

🕒 Local time

23:03 11:03 PM

05:03 5:03 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

17,917

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Paks 9,500 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
Paks

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 Paks: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,143 in Paks, so Paks is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 35% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $534 in Paks. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Paks – a meal for two runs $30 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Paks 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.

Expats usually find Paks gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.