Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Perast

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Perast: $1,204 and $1,258 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Perast
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Perast Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Perast

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,258

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,258 in Perast.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Perast $1,258

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,957 in Perast.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Perast $1,957

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,655 in Perast.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Perast $2,655

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 4% less than in Perast, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Perast 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$11.01 €9.79

-1.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$35.56 €31.63

24.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.91 €7.92

31.99%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.20 €1.96

67.27%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.46 €2.19

-45.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.46 €1.30

-43.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.87 €2.55

6.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.38 €3.00

46.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.20 €1.07

22.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.01 €0.90

119.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.98 €1.76

-25.25%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.10 €2.76

-19.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$8.73 €7.77

-13.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$7.26 €6.46

9.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$12.17 €10.83

3.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.34 €1.19

107.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.50 €1.34

-4.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.62 €1.44

61.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.29 €2.04

-6.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.92 €0.82

119.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.02 €0.91

95.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.51 €1.34

-24.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.78 €0.69

53.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.96 €3.53

7.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$4.38 €3.89

128.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.07 €0.96

43.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.71 €1.52

55.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.65 €1.47

-67.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$38.32 €34.09

-28.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.76 €0.68

544.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.75 €0.66

357.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$11.25 €10.00

-52.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.75 €1.56

-17.14%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$31.0K €27.5K

-31.68%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$21.1K €18.8K

9.15%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$128 €114

-33.47%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$13.17 €11.72

78.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$31.32 €27.86

-9.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$45.90 €40.82

35.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$14.74 €13.11

94.57%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.46 €5.75

-21.05%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$345 €306

-41.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$7,066 €6,285

-44.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$85.1 €75.7

-47.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$34.04 €30.28

21.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$72.7 €64.6

0.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$95.0 €84.5

-5.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$651 €579

50.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$457 €407

-18.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,277 €1,136

31.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$913 €812

20.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,319 €2,953

18.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$2,347 €2,088

161.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

129.00%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Perast: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Perast

$457 36.3% 22.7% $84

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Perast

$213 16.9% 17.6% $45

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Perast

$178 14.2% 11.1% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Perast

$173 13.7% 25.9% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Perast

$129 10.3% 15.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Perast

$59 4.7% 18.8% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Perast

$49 3.9% 4.4% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $651 in Perast. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $36.00 in Perast for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $213 per month, with Perast cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇪 Perast

🕒 Local time

23:31 11:31 PM

05:31 5:31 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

350

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Perast 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Perast

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 Perast: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Perast. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,887 in Perast to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $651 in Perast. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Perast pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $36.00 in Perast. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,258 in Perast, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Perast. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Perast are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Perast. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.