Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pasig

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasig: $716 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Pasig
Learn more

Pasig Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Pasig

🇵🇭 Philippines

$716

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $716 in Pasig, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Pasig $716

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,199 in Pasig, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Pasig $1,199

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,682 in Pasig, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Pasig $1,682

Playa del Carmen costs about 68% more than Pasig, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Pasig are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Pasig 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.88 ₱248

181.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$26.26 ₱1,678

65.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$2.74 ₱175

329.93%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.20 ₱140

73.18%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.65 ₱41.28

96.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.33 ₱21.09

136.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.14 ₱73.0

178.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.34 ₱149

110.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.69 ₱108

-16.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.10 ₱70.4

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.00 ₱63.6

42.00%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.99 ₱127

26.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$5.63 ₱360

28.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.41 ₱218

125.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.69 ₱491

65.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.08 ₱197

-9.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.52 ₱96.9

-9.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.83 ₱181

-9.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.73 ₱111

22.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.25 ₱144

-13.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.65 ₱169

-28.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.14 ₱136

-46.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.59 ₱37.41

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.91 ₱186

47.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$9.57 ₱612

3.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.30 ₱82.8

21.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.04 ₱130

30.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.48 ₱30.73

14.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.77 ₱49.10

545.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.23 ₱14.74

1347.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$1.93 ₱123

177.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.22 ₱78.2

18.03%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$21.4K ₱1.4M

-3.31%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$18.7K ₱1.2M

25.74%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$119 ₱7,635

-29.04%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$16.99 ₱1,085

37.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$24.01 ₱1,534

19.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$29.49 ₱1,884

93.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.14 ₱393

-16.29%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$131 ₱8,373

57.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,921 ₱570.0K

-55.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$33.15 ₱2,118

30.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$27.27 ₱1,742

51.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$69.6 ₱4,446

6.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$54.9 ₱3,505

62.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$323 ₱20.7K

202.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$148 ₱9,467

157.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$504 ₱32.2K

238.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$476 ₱30.4K

126.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,203 ₱204.6K

23.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,511 ₱160.4K

145.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$512 ₱32.7K

43.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.75

69.63%

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 Pasig: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Pasig

$148 20.7% 61.1% $233

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Pasig

$199 27.8% 22% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Pasig

$80 11.2% 60.5% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Pasig

$160 22.4% 17.3% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Pasig

$83 11.6% 25.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Pasig

$42 5.8% 37.9% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Pasig

$3.9 * 0.5% 92.4% $47

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 $323 in Pasig. 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 43% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $26 in Pasig. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $199 – making Pasig the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Pasig

🕒 Local time

17:59 5:59 PM

06:59 6:59 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

803,159

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Pasig 15,040 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pasig

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 Pasig: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 68%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,074 in Pasig. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pasig, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $323 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $716 in Pasig. That makes Pasig about 41% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $131 in Pasig. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Pasig, where all-in costs run around $716, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Pasig it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Pasig – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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