Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Palermo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,203 a month against $1,545 in Palermo, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Palermo
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Palermo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,203

/mo nomad

Palermo

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,545

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,203 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,545 in Palermo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,203
Palermo $1,545

A couple spends around $2,084 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,330 in Palermo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,084
Palermo $2,330

A family of three spends $2,965 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,116 in Palermo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,965
Palermo $3,116

Playa del Carmen is about 22% cheaper than Palermo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Palermo is 16% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.72 MX$200

$14.88 €13.41

-27.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.71 MX$796

$56.4 €50.8

-24.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.86 MX$221

$11.38 €10.25

4.22%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.8

$2.22 €2.00

71.17%

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

$1.29 MX$23.96

$2.40 €2.17

-46.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.33

$1.25 €1.13

-34.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 MX$57.2

$5.73 €5.16

-46.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 MX$92.9

$4.57 €4.11

9.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.72

$1.31 €1.18

13.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 MX$42.14

$1.84 €1.66

22.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MX$26.00

$2.84 €2.56

-50.70%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.03

$2.97 €2.68

-16.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.25 MX$135

$14.76 €13.30

-50.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.09 MX$151

$12.07 €10.88

-32.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 MX$240

$16.72 €15.07

-23.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.89 MX$53.9

$2.90 €2.61

-0.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.80

$2.12 €1.91

-32.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 MX$48.60

$2.95 €2.66

-11.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 MX$39.68

$3.00 €2.71

-29.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.05

$1.64 €1.47

21.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.27

$1.53 €1.38

23.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.79 €1.61

-35.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 MX$22.99

$0.43 €0.39

186.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MX$82.9

$6.81 €6.14

-34.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.61 MX$179

$7.69 €6.93

24.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 MX$29.81

$2.16 €1.94

-25.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 MX$49.97

$3.05 €2.74

-12.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.53

$1.53 €1.38

-62.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.54 MX$494

$36.17 €32.60

-26.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.79 MX$89.2

$3.28 €2.96

46.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.29 MX$61.3

$1.10 €1.00

199.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$37.52 €33.81

-85.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.27

$2.15 €1.94

-32.09%

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

$21.1K MX$392.7K

$35.3K €31.8K

-40.25%

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

$23.4K MX$436.4K

$37.8K €34.1K

-38.00%

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

$83.9 MX$1,563

$224 €202

-62.54%

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

$23.11 MX$430

$10.30 €9.28

124.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.32 MX$527

$27.12 €24.44

4.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 MX$982

$62.0 €55.8

-14.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.94 MX$576

$33.08 €29.81

-6.47%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.4

$9.45 €8.52

-47.51%

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

$203 MX$3,787

$445 €401

-54.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,245 MX$97.7K

$6,279 €5,658

-16.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.12 MX$822

$71.7 €64.7

-38.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.37 MX$771

$31.12 €28.04

32.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.8 MX$1,375

$85.7 €77.3

-13.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,676

$127 €115

-29.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$988 MX$18.4K

$693 €624

42.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,122

$461 €415

-16.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,667 MX$31.0K

$1,116 €1,006

49.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,085 MX$20.2K

$742 €668

46.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,942 MX$73.4K

$2,520 €2,271

56.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,102 MX$113.6K

$1,381 €1,245

341.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$907 MX$16.9K

$1,661 €1,497

-45.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.39

237.76%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 8, 2026

Last update for Palermo: November 9, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Palermo

$461 29.8% 20.5% $78

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.6%

Palermo

$316 20.5% 21.7% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$201 16.7%

Palermo

$232 15% 15.7% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$135 11.3%

Palermo

$261 16.9% 93.2% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Palermo

$142 9.2% 26.7% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$63 5.2%

Palermo

$81 5.2% 29.1% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Palermo

$51 3.3% 2.1% $1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $988 in Playa del Carmen versus $693 in Palermo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 83% higher in Palermo. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $56 in Palermo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $316 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇹 Palermo

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

16:18 4:18 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

628,165

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.84 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 12, 2026: 1 USD = 18.62 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.67 MXN (100 MXN = 4.84 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 12, 2026: 1 USD = 0.901 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Palermo 9,470 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Palermo

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 Palermo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Palermo is pricier by about 28%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,805 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,317 in Palermo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Palermo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $693 there versus $988 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 27% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $203 per month in Playa del Carmen and $445 in Palermo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,203, than in Palermo at $1,545. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Palermo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,203 versus $1,545 in Palermo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Palermo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.