Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Paradise

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,624 in Paradise, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Paradise outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Paradise
Learn more

Paradise Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Paradise

🇬🇾 Guyana

$1,624

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,624 in Paradise.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Paradise $1,624

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,144 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,147 in Paradise.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Paradise $2,147

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,072 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,670 in Paradise.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Paradise $2,670

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 25% less than in Paradise, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 9% below, Paradise is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$9.39 GYD 1,950

16.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$65.7 GYD 13.6K

-31.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$8.53 GYD 1,772

39.74%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$4.40 GYD 913

-13.64%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$1.16 GYD 241

12.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$0.69 GYD 143

24.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$2.31 GYD 479

38.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$2.46 GYD 511

103.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$3.65 GYD 758

-60.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$1.87 GYD 389

24.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$1.84 GYD 382

-21.74%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$3.43 GYD 712

-28.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$10.09 GYD 2,095

-23.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$5.77 GYD 1,198

36.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$9.11 GYD 1,892

40.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$4.02 GYD 835

-27.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$2.28 GYD 474

-37.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$2.28 GYD 475

12.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$2.48 GYD 515

-13.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$1.45 GYD 302

34.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$1.97 GYD 409

-1.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$1.28 GYD 266

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$1.67 GYD 348

-26.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$2.18 GYD 453

100.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$10.94 GYD 2,272

-9.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.57 GYD 327

-1.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$2.38 GYD 494

14.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$0.59 GYD 122

-11.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$29.99 GYD 6,228

-8.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$2.41 GYD 500

103.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$3.30 GYD 686

6.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$9.69 GYD 2,012

-41.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.02 GYD 213

50.98%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$15.6K GYD 3.2M

35.89%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$17.8K GYD 3.7M

37.26%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$75.3 GYD 15.6K

11.05%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$27.89 GYD 5,792

-13.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$67.9 GYD 14.1K

-56.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$49.69 GYD 10.3K

30.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$6.09 GYD 1,264

-16.42%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$916 GYD 190.3K

-77.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$20.6K GYD 4.3M

-80.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$31.67 GYD 6,577

40.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$47.24 GYD 9,810

-10.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$63.4 GYD 13.2K

19.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$63.5 GYD 13.2K

43.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$299 GYD 62.1K

229.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$807 GYD 167.7K

-52.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$1,221 GYD 253.7K

40.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$661 GYD 137.2K

67.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$3,406 GYD 707.4K

17.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$470 GYD 97.6K

1229.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$729 GYD 151.5K

3.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.11

61.04%

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 Paradise: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Paradise

$807 49% 110% $422

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Paradise

$286 17.4% 9.9% $26

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Paradise

$177 10.8% 13.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Paradise

$171 10.4% 24.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Paradise

$93 5.6% 18.8% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Paradise

$62 3.8% 17.6% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Paradise

$51 3.1% 1.5% $0.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $986 in Playa del Carmen and $299 in Paradise. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $66.0 in Paradise for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $286 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇾 Paradise

🕒 Local time

10:08 10:08 AM

11:08 11:08 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,050

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Guyanese Dollar GYD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1,000 GYD = 4.81 USD

1,000 GYD = 4.3 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GYD, 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).

Guyanese Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 208 GYD (1,000 GYD = 4.81 USD). 1 EUR = 233 GYD (1,000 GYD = 4.3 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Paradise 3,490 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Paradise

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 Paradise: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and utilities. The 34% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 4% 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: $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $299 in Paradise. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $66.0 in Paradise. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,624 in Paradise – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,624 in Paradise, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Paradise. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Paradise, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Paradise. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.