Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Palau

Name: Palau
Address: PW

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,985 in Palau, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Palau
Learn more

Palau Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

🇵🇼 Palau

$1,985

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 38% cheaper than Palau without rent, and 38.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 26.7% cheaper than Palau without rent, and 23.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$13.61 $13.61

-19.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$75.1 $75.1

-40.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$9.94 $9.94

19.92%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$4.04 $4.04

-5.94%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$1.40 $1.40

-6.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$1.05 $1.05

-18.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$1.53 $1.53

109.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$2.14 $2.14

134.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$2.59 $2.59

-43.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$3.05 $3.05

-23.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$0.26 $0.26

453.85%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$6.35 $6.35

-61.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$9.95 $9.95

-22.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$13.65 $13.65

-42.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$19.59 $19.59

-34.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$5.37 $5.37

-45.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$2.26 $2.26

-37.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$5.57 $5.57

-53.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$16.51 $16.51

-87.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$4.70 $4.70

-58.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$3.40 $3.40

-42.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.98 $1.98

-41.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$1.74 $1.74

-29.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$14.91 $14.91

-70.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$22.37 $22.37

-55.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$3.49 $3.49

-55.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$3.40 $3.40

-20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$2.47 $2.47

98.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$5.86 $5.86

-2.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.92 $1.92

-19.79%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$17.8K $17.8K

19.45%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$15.2K $15.2K

61.47%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$170 $170

-50.91%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$52.3 $52.3

-54.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$198 $198

-85.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$79.3 $79.3

-18.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

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

$208 MX$3,813

$255 $255

-18.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$84.0 $84.0

-46.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$65.4 $65.4

-35.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$195 $195

-61.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$195 $195

-53.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$737 $737

33.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$530 $530

-27.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$2,156 $2,156

-20.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$934 $934

18.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$773 $773

-1.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Palau: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Palau

$530 26.7% 37.6% $145

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Palau

$504 25.4% 93.5% $243

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Palau

$209 10.5% 2.4% $4.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Palau

$420 21.2% 207% $283

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Palau

$243 12.2% 113% $128

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Palau

$79 * 4% 5.7% $4.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Palau

$2.5 * 0.1% 95.3% $50

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

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇼 Palau

🕒 Local time

05:37 5:37 AM

19:37 7:37 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

21,729

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Palau 14,510 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Palau

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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