Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pekanbaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Pekanbaru: $628 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
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Pekanbaru Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $628 in Pekanbaru.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Pekanbaru $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $983 in Pekanbaru.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Pekanbaru $983

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,339 in Pekanbaru.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Pekanbaru $1,339

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 93% more expensive than in Pekanbaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Pekanbaru 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

652.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

424.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

389.21%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

197.69%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

136.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.33 Rp 5,954

154.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

49.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

46.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

10.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

93.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

65.17%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

50.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

231.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

97.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

7.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

-15.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

5.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

62.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

61.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

5.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

58.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.35 Rp 6,350

260.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

103.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

-55.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-16.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

-6.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.29 Rp 5,230

96.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

229.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

441.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.40 Rp 7,154

775.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

101.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

93.42%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

-9.83%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

-8.16%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

35.65%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

300.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

22.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

122.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

250.66%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

63.04%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

112.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

-49.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

36.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

51.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

38.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

9.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$262 Rp 4.7M

285.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$145 Rp 2.6M

158.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$540 Rp 9.7M

216.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$356 Rp 6.4M

210.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

268.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$807 Rp 14.5M

664.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$176 Rp 3.2M

328.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.46

21.04%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Pekanbaru: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1% 61.3% $229

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Pekanbaru

$201 32% 22.3% $58

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8% 72.7% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6% 33.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Pekanbaru

$88 14% 22% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5% 52.8% $38

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Pekanbaru

$13 2% 76.2% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $262 in Pekanbaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 329% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $8.00 in Pekanbaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $201 per month, with Pekanbaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🕒 Local time

23:20 11:20 PM

11:20 11:20 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,020,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Pekanbaru 17,490 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pekanbaru

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 Pekanbaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pekanbaru is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 93% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 329% 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $262 in Pekanbaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Pekanbaru – a meal for two runs $8.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $628 in Pekanbaru – a 93% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in Pekanbaru versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pekanbaru but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Pekanbaru the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Pekanbaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.