Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Papua New Guinea

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,325 in Papua New Guinea, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Papua New Guinea outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea
$1,325
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 6.8% more expensive than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 8.3% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 1.5% more expensive than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 1.4% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.97 MX$201
$7.14 PGK 31.29
53.64%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.85 MX$823
$44.69 PGK 196
0.36%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.92 MX$219
$5.55 PGK 24.32
114.77%
Cappuccino
$3.80 MX$69.9
$2.34 PGK 10.24
62.39%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 MX$24.08
$0.76 PGK 3.33
72.37%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.86 MX$15.72
$0.65 PGK 2.86
32.31%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.21 MX$59.0
$2.62 PGK 11.47
22.52%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.01 MX$92.0
$3.86 PGK 16.90
29.79%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 MX$26.77
$1.92 PGK 8.43
-23.96%
White Bread (500g)
$2.33 MX$42.72
$1.53 PGK 6.73
52.29%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.48
$1.36 PGK 5.96
5.88%
Eggs
$2.46 MX$45.20
$3.81 PGK 16.69
-35.43%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.70 MX$141
$6.27 PGK 27.49
22.81%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.89 MX$145
$6.00 PGK 26.29
31.50%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.80 MX$235
$9.33 PGK 40.88
37.19%
Apples (1kg)
$2.92 MX$53.6
$4.01 PGK 17.56
-27.18%
Banana (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.11
$3.35 PGK 14.69
-57.61%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.57 MX$47.10
$6.17 PGK 27.05
-58.35%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.24
$5.13 PGK 22.47
-58.28%
Potato (1kg)
$1.95 MX$35.75
$3.65 PGK 16.00
-46.58%
Onion (1kg)
$1.94 MX$35.55
$2.74 PGK 12.03
-29.20%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.13
$2.00 PGK 8.77
-42.50%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 MX$22.42
$1.14 PGK 4.97
7.02%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.38 MX$80.3
$6.37 PGK 27.94
-31.24%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.85 MX$181
$10.54 PGK 46.21
-6.55%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 MX$28.23
$2.58 PGK 11.29
-40.31%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 MX$49.86
$3.66 PGK 16.03
-25.68%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.64
$0.43 PGK 1.87
20.93%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.42 MX$503
$25.43 PGK 111
7.83%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.91 MX$90.2
$4.95 PGK 21.70
-0.81%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.52 MX$64.7
$2.23 PGK 9.78
57.85%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.69 MX$104
$14.19 PGK 62.2
-59.90%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 MX$28.27
$0.95 PGK 4.15
62.11%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$389.9K
$28.7K PGK 125.6K
-25.92%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K MX$449.6K
$22.7K PGK 99.6K
7.78%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.6 MX$1,535
$93.1 PGK 408
-10.17%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$24.03 MX$441
$27.52 PGK 121
-12.68%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.33 MX$539
$116 PGK 506
-74.62%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$64.9 MX$1,191
$63.5 PGK 278
2.16%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.46 MX$541
$24.15 PGK 106
21.99%
Cinema Ticket
$5.09 MX$93.4
$8.99 PGK 39.42
-43.38%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$208 MX$3,813
$526 PGK 2,307
-60.54%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,045 MX$74.3K
$5,532 PGK 24.2K
-26.88%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.55 MX$818
$35.26 PGK 155
26.35%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.06 MX$772
$30.74 PGK 135
36.82%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.5 MX$1,387
$69.0 PGK 302
9.54%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$91.4 MX$1,678
$92.3 PGK 404
-0.99%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$986 MX$18.1K
$1,597 PGK 6,998
-38.23%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$385 MX$7,072
$444 PGK 1,946
-13.24%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,713 MX$31.5K
$2,846 PGK 12.5K
-39.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,108 MX$20.4K
$1,033 PGK 4,525
7.35%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,016 MX$73.7K
$2,005 PGK 8,789
100.26%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,247 MX$114.7K
$3,785 PGK 16.6K
65.04%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Papua New Guinea
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$758 MX$13.9K
$418 PGK 1,833
81.22%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
13.67
-16.24%

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 Papua New Guinea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$385
Papua New Guinea
$444 15.3% $59
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$260
Papua New Guinea
$302 16% $42
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$204
Papua New Guinea
$128 37.1% $76
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Papua New Guinea
$236 72.4% $99
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$114
Papua New Guinea
$102 10.4% $12
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$75
Papua New Guinea
$81 8.6% $6.4
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$52
Papua New Guinea
$43 16.9% $8.8
Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea
🕒 Local time
07:07 7:07 AM
22:07 10:07 PM
15 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
8,935,000
Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

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).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Papua New Guinea 14,090 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Papua New Guinea

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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