Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Porlamar

For one person, living is cheaper in Porlamar: $629 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Porlamar
Learn more

Porlamar Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Porlamar

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $629 in Porlamar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Porlamar $629

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,007 in Porlamar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Porlamar $1,007

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,385 in Porlamar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Porlamar $1,385

Playa del Carmen costs about 91% more than Porlamar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Porlamar are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Porlamar 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.43 VES 3,928

146.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.61 VES 30.7K

25.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$9.12 VES 8,078

29.17%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.78 VES 1,580

114.04%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.63 VES 1,440

-21.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.30 VES 1,150

-40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.48 VES 1,312

114.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.91 VES 2,582

69.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.01 VES 897

39.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.01 VES 898

119.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.01 VES 897

40.59%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.97 VES 1,743

27.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$4.01 VES 3,557

81.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.93 VES 4,364

56.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$6.15 VES 5,451

106.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.10 VES 3,630

-32.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.46 VES 1,292

-6.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.47 VES 1,303

73.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.48 VES 1,310

43.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.52 VES 1,343

27.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.97 VES 861

94.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.02 VES 903

15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$1.96 VES 1,737

119.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.18 VES 5,470

61.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.94 VES 1,722

37.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.46 VES 411

19.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$14.98 VES 13.3K

77.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.28 VES 1,134

160.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.48 VES 422

200.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$20.3K VES 18.0M

1.71%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$34.7K VES 30.7M

-32.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$11.89 VES 10.5K

613.12%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.67 VES 6,791

205.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$22.65 VES 20.1K

26.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$40.65 VES 36.0K

40.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$12.74 VES 11.3K

126.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$3.41 VES 3,022

50.73%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$30.05 VES 26.6K

587.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$30.10 VES 26.7K

44.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$45.52 VES 40.3K

-8.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$60.7 VES 53.8K

22.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$75.3 VES 66.7K

18.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$202 VES 178.9K

385.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$147 VES 130.5K

158.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$335 VES 297.1K

409.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$196 VES 173.7K

448.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$406 VES 359.7K

870.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$152 VES 135.0K

3942.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$215 VES 190.6K

241.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-42.75%

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 Porlamar: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Porlamar

$147 23.4% 61.3% $234

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Porlamar

$165 * 26.2% 35.3% $90

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Porlamar

$109 17.3% 46.1% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Porlamar

$42 6.7% 69.2% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Porlamar

$95 15.1% 14.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Porlamar

$47 7.5% 29.5% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Porlamar

$23 * 3.7% 53.9% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $202 in Porlamar. 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 3.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $35 in Porlamar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $165 – making Porlamar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇪 Porlamar

🕒 Local time

16:37 4:37 PM

17:37 5:37 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

103,496

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, 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).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 886 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 986 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Porlamar 2,700 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Porlamar

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 Porlamar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 91%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $944 in Porlamar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Porlamar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $202 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $629 in Porlamar. That makes Porlamar about 48% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Porlamar. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Porlamar, where all-in costs run around $629, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Porlamar it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Porlamar – 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 Porlamar. 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.