Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Piliyandala

For one person, living is cheaper in Piliyandala: $580 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Piliyandala
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Piliyandala Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Piliyandala

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$580

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $580 in Piliyandala, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Piliyandala $580

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $917 in Piliyandala, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Piliyandala $917

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,253 in Piliyandala, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Piliyandala $1,253

Playa del Carmen costs about 107% more than Piliyandala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Piliyandala are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Piliyandala 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.06 LKR 1,017

248.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$12.26 LKR 4,078

257.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.64 LKR 2,541

54.32%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.57 LKR 856

47.47%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.73 LKR 243

78.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.27 LKR 90.6

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.25 LKR 749

40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.05 LKR 1,014

61.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.58 LKR 526

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.56 LKR 187

292.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.81 LKR 268

81.48%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$1.71 LKR 568

46.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$15.09 LKR 5,019

-51.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.94 LKR 1,643

60.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.65 LKR 2,544

68.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$6.52 LKR 2,168

-55.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.82 LKR 273

68.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$4.27 LKR 1,420

-41.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.28 LKR 424

58.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.07 LKR 357

88.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.83 LKR 275

128.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.25 LKR 415

-8.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.45 LKR 150

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$10.38 LKR 3,452

-58.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.32 LKR 4,430

-26.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.87 LKR 623

-14.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.92 LKR 971

-5.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.37 LKR 123

37.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.41 LKR 136

1060.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.31 LKR 105

948.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$0.87 LKR 291

519.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.34 LKR 445

14.18%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$42.9K LKR 14.3M

-50.50%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$46.2K LKR 15.4M

-49.62%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$55.9 LKR 18.6K

49.41%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$4.25 LKR 1,413

445.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.79 LKR 6,914

32.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$4.48 LKR 1,491

11.61%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$40.91 LKR 13.6K

406.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$17.2K LKR 5.7M

-69.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$17.85 LKR 5,937

143.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$17.46 LKR 5,806

143.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$77.9 LKR 25.9K

-6.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$41.22 LKR 13.7K

114.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$107 LKR 35.6K

830.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$75.2 LKR 25.0K

408.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$253 LKR 84.0K

562.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$181 LKR 60.1K

497.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$302 LKR 100.3K

176.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.5

-8.40%

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 Piliyandala: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Piliyandala

$75 13% 80.3% $307

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Piliyandala

$243 41.8% 5.8% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Piliyandala

$100 17.2% 50.2% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Piliyandala

$81 14% 39.7% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Piliyandala

$70 12% 37.5% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Piliyandala

$9 * 1.6% 86.5% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Piliyandala

$3.5 * 0.6% 93.1% $47

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 $107 in Piliyandala. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $12 in Piliyandala. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $243 – making Piliyandala the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇰 Piliyandala

🕒 Local time

08:46 8:46 AM

19:16 7:16 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Piliyandala 16,650 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Piliyandala

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 Piliyandala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $580 in Piliyandala – Piliyandala comes out roughly 52% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $870 in Piliyandala. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Piliyandala, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $107 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $12 in Piliyandala. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Piliyandala, where all-in costs run around $580, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Piliyandala it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Piliyandala – 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 Piliyandala. 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.