Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pasaje

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasaje: $864 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Pasaje
Learn more

Pasaje Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Pasaje

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$864

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $864 in Pasaje, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Pasaje $864

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,428 in Pasaje, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Pasaje $1,428

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,993 in Pasaje, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Pasaje $1,993

Playa del Carmen costs about 39% more than Pasaje, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Pasaje are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Pasaje 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$3.88 $3.88

181.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$52.3 $52.3

-17.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$9.14 $9.14

28.88%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$2.91 $2.91

30.93%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$0.86 $0.86

48.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$0.73 $0.73

6.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$2.96 $2.96

7.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$4.33 $4.33

13.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.16 $1.16

21.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$1.94 $1.94

14.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.40 $1.40

1.43%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.08 $2.08

21.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.84 $6.84

6.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.13 $5.13

50.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$8.94 $8.94

41.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$1.47 $1.47

89.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.16 $1.16

18.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.02 $1.02

150.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$0.96 $0.96

120.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.28 $1.28

51.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$0.91 $0.91

107.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$0.87 $0.87

32.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$1.02 $1.02

15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$5.91 $5.91

-27.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.99 $11.99

-17.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.57 $1.57

0.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$2.14 $2.14

24.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.39 $0.39

41.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$2.80 $2.80

77.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$1.73 $1.73

92.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$11.91 $11.91

-55.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$0.83 $0.83

73.49%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$23.0K $23.0K

-10.07%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$31.2K $31.2K

-24.78%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$33.84 $33.84

150.56%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$15.11 $15.11

54.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$26.30 $26.30

8.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$30.99 $30.99

84.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$15.24 $15.24

89.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$7.52 $7.52

-31.65%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$368 $368

-43.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$5,688 $5,688

-30.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$66.1 $66.1

-34.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$39.84 $39.84

4.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$124 $124

-40.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$91.0 $91.0

-1.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$411 $411

138.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$263 $263

44.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$710 $710

140.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$505 $505

112.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.05

13.93%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pasaje: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Pasaje

$263 30.5% 30.8% $117

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Pasaje

$198 23% 22.1% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Pasaje

$123 14.3% 39.1% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Pasaje

$75 8.7% 45% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Pasaje

$144 16.7% 29.3% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Pasaje

$46 5.3% 31.6% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Pasaje

$13 * 1.5% 74.2% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $411 in Pasaje. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $52 in Pasaje. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $198 in Pasaje – so Pasaje wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇨 Pasaje

🕒 Local time

00:36 12:36 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

44,860

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 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 Pasaje 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pasaje

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 Pasaje: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 39% more than Pasaje, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,296 in Pasaje. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pasaje, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $411 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $52 in Pasaje. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 28% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $864 in Pasaje. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $864 in Pasaje to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.