Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Popayan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,398 in Popayan, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Popayan
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Popayan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Popayan

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,398

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,398 in Popayan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Popayan $1,398

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,091 in Popayan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Popayan $2,091

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,783 in Popayan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Popayan $2,783

Playa del Carmen is about 14% cheaper than Popayan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Popayan is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$7.83 COP 25.3K

36.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$46.74 COP 150.9K

-6.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$9.82 COP 31.7K

20.06%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$2.77 COP 8,931

36.82%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$1.36 COP 4,404

-4.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.91 COP 2,931

-8.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

$2.86 COP 9,243

10.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

$4.26 COP 13.8K

15.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.50 COP 4,838

-6.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$2.07 COP 6,698

6.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.99 COP 6,415

-26.13%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$3.31 COP 10.7K

-24.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.28 COP 26.7K

-11.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$11.20 COP 36.2K

-29.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$14.18 COP 45.8K

-9.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$3.93 COP 12.7K

-26.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$1.49 COP 4,810

-7.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.82 COP 5,866

36.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.81 COP 5,856

12.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.62 COP 5,224

24.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.69 COP 5,459

12.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$1.04 COP 3,367

9.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$1.34 COP 4,326

-7.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$4.02 COP 13.0K

6.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$13.00 COP 42.0K

-24.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$1.61 COP 5,191

-1.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$2.27 COP 7,325

21.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$1.17 COP 3,779

-56.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$56.8 COP 183.5K

-51.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$1.71 COP 5,511

178.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$2.15 COP 6,956

51.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$8.15 COP 26.3K

-33.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$1.33 COP 4,301

15.04%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$36.6K COP 118.3M

-42.11%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$37.8K COP 122.0M

-38.44%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$111 COP 359.9K

-25.09%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$14.64 COP 47.3K

58.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$27.47 COP 88.7K

0.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$39.02 COP 126.0K

44.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$6.76 COP 21.8K

-26.04%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$507 COP 1.6M

-59.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$10.5K COP 33.8M

-50.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$80.7 COP 260.6K

-46.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$58.1 COP 187.6K

-26.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$119 COP 385.5K

-39.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$104 COP 334.7K

-14.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$802 COP 2.6M

24.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$506 COP 1.6M

-24.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$1,349 COP 4.4M

24.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$779 COP 2.5M

38.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$2,078 COP 6.7M

88.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,794 COP 5.8M

242.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-4.58%

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 Popayan: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Popayan

$506 36.2% 32.3% $124

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Popayan

$292 20.9% 13.5% $35

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Popayan

$157 11.2% 21.5% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Popayan

$154 11% 14.4% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Popayan

$163 11.6% 46.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Popayan

$53 3.8% 20.9% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Popayan

$74 5.3% 46.6% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $802 in Popayan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $47 in Popayan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $292 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 Popayan

🕒 Local time

11:18 11:18 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

318,059

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,627 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Popayan 2,320 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Popayan

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 Popayan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Popayan is pricier by about 16%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,098 in Popayan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Popayan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $802 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,398 in Popayan. That makes Playa del Carmen about 14% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 52% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,398 in Popayan. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.