Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pereira

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,375 in Pereira, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Pereira outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Pereira
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Pereira Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Pereira

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,375

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,375 in Pereira, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Pereira $1,375

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,318 in Pereira, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Pereira $2,318

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,260 in Pereira, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Pereira $3,260

Playa del Carmen is about 13% cheaper than Pereira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Pereira is 2% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$7.92 COP 25.6K

34.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$46.67 COP 150.6K

-6.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$9.48 COP 30.6K

24.37%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$2.59 COP 8,373

46.33%

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

$1.30 MX$24.09

$1.37 COP 4,416

-5.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.48

$0.84 COP 2,714

-1.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$3.08 COP 9,931

2.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$3.83 COP 12.4K

28.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.28 COP 4,137

10.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.77

$1.76 COP 5,678

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.35

$1.89 COP 6,099

-22.22%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.37

$3.11 COP 10.0K

-19.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$3.03 COP 9,779

140.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$10.31 COP 33.3K

-22.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.57 COP 43.8K

-5.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$4.01 COP 12.9K

-27.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.69

$1.27 COP 4,101

8.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.26

$2.09 COP 6,758

19.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.70

$1.22 COP 3,941

66.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.61

$2.16 COP 6,973

-6.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.35

$1.17 COP 3,782

62.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.25

$1.18 COP 3,811

-3.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.01

$1.53 COP 4,924

-18.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$3.64 COP 11.7K

17.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$13.87 COP 44.7K

-29.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.45

$1.30 COP 4,209

22.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$2.68 COP 8,652

2.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$1.06 COP 3,423

-51.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$1.86 COP 6,002

155.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$2.10 COP 6,761

54.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.36 COP 27.0K

-35.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.38

$1.27 COP 4,111

20.47%

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

$21.2K MX$393.9K

$34.8K COP 112.3M

-39.05%

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

$23.3K MX$432.0K

$33.9K COP 109.4M

-31.37%

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

$83.5 MX$1,550

$158 COP 511.0K

-47.28%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$13.48 COP 43.5K

72.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$513

$30.17 COP 97.4K

-8.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,048

$48.06 COP 155.1K

17.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.9

$7.21 COP 23.3K

-30.65%

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

$207 MX$3,846

$799 COP 2.6M

-74.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$12.4K COP 39.9M

-57.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$807

$87.2 COP 281.2K

-50.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$790

$58.2 COP 187.8K

-26.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,351

$135 COP 436.3K

-46.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,641

$98.9 COP 319.2K

-10.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$650 COP 2.1M

53.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,102

$503 COP 1.6M

-24.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$1,022 COP 3.3M

63.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,358 COP 4.4M

-20.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.6K

$1,297 COP 4.2M

201.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.0K

$1,746 COP 5.6M

251.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$575 COP 1.9M

44.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.94

4.66%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Pereira: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Pereira

$503 36.6% 31.6% $121

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Pereira

$265 19.3% 3.1% $8

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Pereira

$155 11.3% 22.7% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Pereira

$202 14.7% 50.4% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Pereira

$171 12.4% 53.6% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Pereira

$62 4.5% 6% $4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Pereira

$17 * 1.2% 67.1% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $650 in Pereira. 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 45% higher in Playa del Carmen, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $47 in Pereira. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $265 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 Pereira

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

467,269

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, 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 = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,613 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Pereira 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pereira

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 Pereira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pereira costs about 14% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,063 in Pereira. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pereira, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $650 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,375 in Pereira. That makes Playa del Carmen about 13% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $799 in Pereira. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,202 versus $1,375 in Pereira. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.