Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Palanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Palanga: $915 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Palanga
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Palanga Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Palanga

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $915 in Palanga, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Palanga $915

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,488 in Palanga, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Palanga $1,488

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,062 in Palanga, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Palanga $2,062

Playa del Carmen costs about 32% more than Palanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Palanga are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Palanga 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$12.10 €10.83

-9.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$68.1 €61.0

-36.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.78 €6.97

51.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.42 €3.06

11.40%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.63 €2.36

-51.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$2.82 €2.52

-72.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$5.62 €5.03

-43.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$5.17 €4.63

-4.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.41 €1.26

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.72 €1.54

29.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.78 €1.59

-20.22%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.06 €2.74

-17.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.04 €8.99

-27.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$7.08 €6.34

8.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.35 €11.06

2.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.59 €1.43

74.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.51 €1.36

-9.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.64 €1.47

55.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$3.07 €2.75

-30.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.78 €0.70

148.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.90 €0.80

110.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.46 €1.31

-21.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.81 €0.72

45.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$5.80 €5.19

-25.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.54 €7.65

16.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.72 €1.54

-8.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.11 €1.89

26.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$33.22 €29.75

-19.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$1.14 €1.02

335.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.88 €0.79

278.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$13.39 €11.99

-59.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.80 €1.61

-20.00%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$26.8K €24.0K

-22.97%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$27.6K €24.7K

-15.05%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$201 €180

-57.77%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$15.18 €13.60

54.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$14.38 €12.88

99.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$8.76 €7.85

-41.32%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$509 €456

-59.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$8,777 €7,861

-55.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$84.0 €75.2

-48.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$40.20 €36.01

3.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$80.7 €72.3

-8.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$162 €146

-45.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$4,928 €4,414

-19.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$2,930 €2,624

110.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,461 €1,309

-49.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.05

182.72%

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 Palanga: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Palanga

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Palanga

$242 26.4% 5.1% $13

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Palanga

$221 24.2% 9.4% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Palanga

$230 25.2% 68.3% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Palanga

$165 18.1% 48% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Palanga

$18 * 1.9% 74% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Palanga

$39 * 4.2% 23.2% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 99% higher in Palanga, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $68 in Palanga. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $242 in Palanga – so Palanga wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇹 Palanga

🕒 Local time

10:55 10:55 AM

17:55 5:55 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,732

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Palanga 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Palanga

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 Palanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $915 in Palanga – Palanga comes out roughly 24% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,373 in Palanga. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $915 in Palanga. That makes Palanga about 24% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 20% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Palanga, where all-in costs run around $915, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Palanga it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $915 in Palanga to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.