Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Palma Soriano

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,565 in Palma Soriano, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Palma Soriano outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Palma Soriano
Learn more

Palma Soriano Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Palma Soriano

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,565

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Palma Soriano

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,565 in Palma Soriano.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Palma Soriano $1,565

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,874 in Palma Soriano.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Palma Soriano $1,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,183 in Palma Soriano.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Palma Soriano $2,183

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 23% less than in Palma Soriano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Palma Soriano is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$4.86 CUP 117

123.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$24.89 CUP 597

77.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$4.88 CUP 117

140.98%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.16 CUP 75.7

16.46%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.26 CUP 30.25

6.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.89 CUP 21.27

-7.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.07 CUP 73.7

-0.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.47 CUP 59.3

100.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.03 CUP 48.71

-27.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.47 CUP 35.25

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.01 CUP 24.31

46.53%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.22 CUP 29.17

104.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$5.83 CUP 140

28.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$6.08 CUP 146

30.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.21 CUP 269

12.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.88 CUP 45.07

47.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.19 CUP 28.55

20.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.46 CUP 34.96

79.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.53 CUP 36.71

39.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.97 CUP 23.29

108.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.99 CUP 23.69

101.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.02 CUP 24.52

11.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.12 CUP 26.84

7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.97 CUP 71.3

43.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$10.01 CUP 240

0.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$3.03 CUP 72.8

-49.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.98 CUP 47.48

34.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.24 CUP 5.72

120.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$30.36 CUP 729

-9.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.84 CUP 44.14

166.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.34 CUP 8.05

908.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$13.16 CUP 316

-59.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.18 CUP 28.34

22.88%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$65.4K CUP 1.6M

-67.65%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$46.5K CUP 1.1M

-50.54%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$55.8 CUP 1,340

52.92%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$9.81 CUP 235

139.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$145 CUP 3,484

-80.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$40.02 CUP 961

55.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$9.83 CUP 236

191.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$1.02 CUP 24.49

400.00%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$100 CUP 2,403

100.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$11.8K CUP 283.6K

-66.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$65.2 CUP 1,565

-31.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$34.94 CUP 838

18.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$85.5 CUP 2,051

-14.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$111 CUP 2,660

-19.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$875 CUP 21.0K

11.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$807 CUP 19.4K

-53.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$757 CUP 18.2K

122.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$656 CUP 15.7K

66.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$322 CUP 7,725

1126.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$324 CUP 7,785

1791.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$39.94 CUP 959

1746.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.33

37.45%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Palma Soriano: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Palma Soriano

$807 51.6% 117% $434

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Palma Soriano

$217 13.9% 16% $41

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Palma Soriano

$120 7.7% 39.9% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Palma Soriano

$211 13.5% 53.6% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Palma Soriano

$133 8.5% 19.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Palma Soriano

$42 2.7% 41.9% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Palma Soriano

$35 2.2% 32.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $875 in Palma Soriano. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 1747% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $25.00 in Palma Soriano for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $217 per month, with Palma Soriano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇺 Palma Soriano

🕒 Local time

11:53 11:53 AM

12:53 12:53 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

74,930

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Palma Soriano 1,160 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Palma Soriano

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 Palma Soriano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Palma Soriano. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1747% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $875 in Palma Soriano. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 10% less than in Palma Soriano. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $100 in Palma Soriano. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,565 in Palma Soriano, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Palma Soriano. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Palma Soriano. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.