Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Picton

For one person, living is cheaper in Picton: $1,020 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Picton
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Picton Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Picton

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,020

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,020 in Picton.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Picton $1,020

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,686 in Picton.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Picton $1,686

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,353 in Picton.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Picton $2,353

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 18% more expensive than in Picton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Picton 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$17.64 CA$24.76

-38.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$71.0 CA$99.6

-38.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$9.88 CA$13.86

19.23%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.49 CA$4.90

9.17%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.06 CA$2.89

-37.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.68 CA$2.36

-53.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$5.67 CA$7.96

-44.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$5.77 CA$8.10

-14.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.67 CA$2.35

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.99 CA$2.80

11.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.27 CA$3.19

-37.44%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.92 CA$4.10

-13.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.14 CA$12.82

-20.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$11.72 CA$16.45

-34.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$14.94 CA$20.96

-15.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.73 CA$3.84

1.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.19 CA$1.67

15.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.47 CA$4.87

-26.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$4.01 CA$5.63

-47.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.83 CA$2.56

6.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.67 CA$2.34

13.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.31 CA$3.25

-50.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.20 CA$1.69

-1.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$13.71 CA$19.24

-68.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$13.97 CA$19.60

-28.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.10 CA$2.94

-24.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.44 CA$3.43

9.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.19 CA$3.08

-74.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$19.77 CA$27.74

34.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.96 CA$4.15

67.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.28 CA$1.79

160.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$21.77 CA$30.56

-75.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.13 CA$1.58

27.43%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$26.1K CA$36.6K

-20.77%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$21.6K CA$30.3K

8.63%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$125 CA$176

-32.22%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$28.11 CA$39.45

-16.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$49.12 CA$68.9

-41.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$42.10 CA$59.1

35.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$8.80 CA$12.34

-41.59%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$283 CA$397

-26.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$23.6K CA$33.1K

-83.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$49.98 CA$70.2

-13.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$35.89 CA$50.4

15.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$85.1 CA$119

-12.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$126 CA$176

-28.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,025 CA$1,439

-4.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,642 CA$2,304

4.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,772 CA$5,294

4.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$3,151 CA$4,422

-76.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.45

157.30%

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 Picton: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Picton

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Picton

$319 31.3% 25.1% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Picton

$268 26.2% 32.2% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Picton

$202 19.8% 47.8% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Picton

$133 13.1% 19.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Picton

$60 5.9% 11.3% $7.6

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Picton

$38 3.7% 24.9% $13

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,025 in Picton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Picton pays about 4.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $71 in Picton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $319 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Picton

🕒 Local time

18:13 6:13 PM

19:13 7:13 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,702

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, 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).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Picton 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Picton

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 Picton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,020 in Picton, so Picton is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,025 in Picton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $71 in Picton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,020 in Picton – Picton is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Picton gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.