Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Piura

For one person, living is cheaper in Piura: $698 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Piura
Learn more

Piura Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Piura

🇵🇪 Peru

$698

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $698 in Piura.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Piura $698

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,196 in Piura.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Piura $1,196

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,694 in Piura.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Piura $1,694

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 72% more expensive than in Piura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Piura 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$3.67 PEN 12.63

190.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$24.02 PEN 82.7

82.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$7.11 PEN 24.47

65.82%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$3.36 PEN 11.56

12.80%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$1.07 PEN 3.68

21.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$0.71 PEN 2.44

16.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$2.33 PEN 8.01

35.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.91 PEN 10.02

69.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$1.42 PEN 4.89

-0.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$2.62 PEN 9.02

-16.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$1.62 PEN 5.58

-9.26%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$2.77 PEN 9.55

-9.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$10.42 PEN 35.84

-30.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$8.23 PEN 28.31

-3.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$10.34 PEN 35.58

24.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$1.35 PEN 4.64

114.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$1.32 PEN 4.53

4.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$1.40 PEN 4.83

77.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$1.32 PEN 4.55

53.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$1.27 PEN 4.36

59.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$0.75 PEN 2.58

153.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$0.88 PEN 3.04

29.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$1.32 PEN 4.54

-6.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$7.99 PEN 27.49

-46.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$11.12 PEN 38.26

-11.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$1.84 PEN 6.34

-13.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$2.82 PEN 9.71

-2.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$0.66 PEN 2.28

-22.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$19.88 PEN 68.4

37.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$2.96 PEN 10.19

60.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$2.34 PEN 8.04

38.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$7.01 PEN 24.12

-23.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$1.49 PEN 5.12

2.68%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$21.2K PEN 73.1K

-0.14%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$23.0K PEN 79.2K

1.07%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$41.49 PEN 143

101.23%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$8.83 PEN 30.38

162.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$28.47 PEN 98.0

98.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$2.28 PEN 7.84

119.30%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$194 PEN 667

6.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$2,339 PEN 8,051

123.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$42.52 PEN 146

2.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$13.17 PEN 45.33

223.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$57.6 PEN 198

26.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$72.4 PEN 249

22.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$226 PEN 779

339.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$129 PEN 442

197.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$396 PEN 1,364

322.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$399 PEN 1,372

171.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$3,679 PEN 12.7K

6.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$521 PEN 1,794

59.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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 Piura: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Piura

$129 18.4% 66.4% $254

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Piura

$250 35.8% 2.9% $7.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Piura

$116 16.6% 42.3% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Piura

$50 * 7.2% 62.5% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Piura

$84 12% 24.9% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Piura

$33 4.7% 50.3% $33

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Piura

$37 5.3% 26.3% $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 $995 in Playa del Carmen and $226 in Piura. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 60% 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: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $24 in Piura for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $250 per month, with Piura cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇪 Piura

🕒 Local time

12:24 12:24 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

158,495

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.87 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Piura 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Piura

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 Piura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $698 in Piura, so Piura is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 60% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $226 in Piura. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $698 in Piura – Piura is about 42% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Piura runs roughly 27% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $698 in Piura versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Piura but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Piura the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Piura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.