Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pec

For one person, living is cheaper in Pec: $669 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Pec
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Pec Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Pec

🇽🇰 Kosovo

$669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $669 in Pec, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Pec $669

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,085 in Pec, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Pec $1,085

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,501 in Pec, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Pec $1,501

Playa del Carmen costs about 80% more than Pec, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Pec are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Pec 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.50 €4.93

98.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$22.40 €20.06

93.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.56 €4.09

158.33%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$1.31 €1.17

190.84%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.59 €1.42

-19.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$1.07 €0.96

-27.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.99 €1.78

59.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.85 €2.55

72.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.31 €1.17

7.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.67 €0.60

231.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.33 €1.19

6.77%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$1.83 €1.64

37.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$7.96 €7.13

-8.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.78 €6.07

13.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.42 €11.12

2.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.44 €1.29

93.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.42 €1.27

-3.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.10 €0.98

131.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$1.65 €1.48

28.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.92 €0.82

110.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.86 €0.77

119.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.84 €0.76

36.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.50 €0.44

136.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.84 €2.55

51.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$5.48 €4.91

81.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$0.91 €0.82

73.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.20 €1.08

122.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.18 €1.95

127.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.57 €0.51

484.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$3.30 €2.95

62.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.47 €1.32

-2.04%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$22.2K €19.8K

-6.75%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$25.6K €22.9K

-8.39%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$103 €92.6

-18.03%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$11.13 €9.96

110.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$23.36 €20.92

22.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$22.69 €20.32

151.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$34.08 €30.52

-15.17%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$4.56 €4.08

12.72%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$151 €135

37.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$2,916 €2,611

34.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$43.60 €39.04

-0.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$27.39 €24.53

51.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$64.4 €57.6

15.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$81.5 €73.0

9.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$166 €149

489.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$110 €98.2

247.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$338 €303

405.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$275 €246

290.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$1,239 €1,110

218.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$1,056 €946

483.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$467 €418

57.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.5

154.44%

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 Pec: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Pec

$110 16.4% 71.2% $271

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Pec

$188 28% 26.4% $67

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Pec

$100 14.9% 50.7% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Pec

$138 20.6% 0.8% $1.1

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Pec

$98 14.6% 12.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Pec

$32 4.8% 52.7% $36

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Pec

$5 * 0.8% 90% $45

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 $166 in Pec. 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 57% 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 $22 in Pec. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $188 – making Pec the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇽🇰 Pec

🕒 Local time

21:29 9:29 PM

03:29 3:29 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

48,962

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Pec 9,800 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pec

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 Pec: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 80% more than Pec, 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 $1,004 in Pec. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pec, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $166 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $22 in Pec. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Pec, where all-in costs run around $669, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Pec it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Pec – 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 Pec. 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.