Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Port of Spain

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,632 in Port of Spain, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Port of Spain
Learn more

Port of Spain Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Port of Spain

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,632

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Port of Spain

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 Port of Spain actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,632 in Port of Spain, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Port of Spain $1,632

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,763 in Port of Spain, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Port of Spain $2,763

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,894 in Port of Spain, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Port of Spain $3,894

Playa del Carmen is about 26% cheaper than Port of Spain, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Port of Spain is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$10.39 TTD 69.9

3.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$88.1 TTD 592

-51.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.08 TTD 61.1

29.85%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.79 TTD 25.51

2.11%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.99 TTD 6.67

38.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.77 TTD 5.15

9.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.14 TTD 14.38

44.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.61 TTD 24.29

40.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.47 TTD 16.62

-41.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.46 TTD 16.53

-9.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.81 TTD 18.92

-47.69%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.46 TTD 30.03

-43.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$6.59 TTD 44.36

10.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.89 TTD 66.5

-20.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$11.36 TTD 76.4

12.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$5.54 TTD 37.28

-47.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$3.11 TTD 20.95

-53.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.70 TTD 24.86

-31.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.38 TTD 29.46

-52.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.16 TTD 14.54

-7.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.87 TTD 12.56

7.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.90 TTD 12.77

-37.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.35 TTD 9.05

-6.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$5.90 TTD 39.69

-25.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$19.26 TTD 130

-50.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.21 TTD 14.85

-28.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.94 TTD 19.77

-4.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.35 TTD 9.10

-57.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$135 TTD 908

-79.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.06 TTD 7.10

369.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.26 TTD 8.49

177.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$14.48 TTD 97.4

-62.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.16 TTD 7.84

26.72%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$36.7K TTD 246.7K

-42.79%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$41.2K TTD 276.9K

-41.92%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$90.6 TTD 609

-7.02%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$51.6 TTD 347

-53.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$56.8 TTD 382

-48.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$57.4 TTD 386

9.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$12.93 TTD 87.0

125.37%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$8.69 TTD 58.4

-43.15%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$394 TTD 2,649

-48.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.9K TTD 73.3K

-63.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$54.4 TTD 366

-19.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$51.7 TTD 347

-16.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$147 TTD 987

-48.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$105 TTD 703

-15.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,003 TTD 6,750

0.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$515 TTD 3,465

-27.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$2,184 TTD 14.7K

-21.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,210 TTD 8,138

-8.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$4,493 TTD 30.2K

-12.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,984 TTD 13.3K

210.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$757 TTD 5,090

-0.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.75

99.13%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Port of Spain: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Port of Spain

$515 31.6% 37.7% $141

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Port of Spain

$354 21.7% 37% $96

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Port of Spain

$181 11.1% 10.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Port of Spain

$199 12.2% 45.1% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Port of Spain

$161 9.9% 42.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Port of Spain

$75 4.6% 2.5% $1.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Port of Spain

$148 9.1% 181% $95

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,003 in Port of Spain. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 0% higher in Port of Spain, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $88.0 in Port of Spain. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $354 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇹 Port of Spain

🕒 Local time

15:00 3:00 PM

16:00 4:00 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

37,074 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Port of Spain 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Port of Spain

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 Port of Spain: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Port of Spain is pricier by about 35%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,448 in Port of Spain. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,632 in Port of Spain. That's a gap of about 35%.

Public transport costs about 385% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Port of Spain at $1,632. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Port of Spain it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – 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 Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Port of Spain makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.