Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Prince Albert

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,710 in Prince Albert, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Prince Albert
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Prince Albert Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Prince Albert

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,710

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Prince Albert

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,710 in Prince Albert, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Prince Albert $1,710

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,442 in Prince Albert, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Prince Albert $2,442

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,174 in Prince Albert, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Prince Albert $3,174

Playa del Carmen is about 30% cheaper than Prince Albert, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Prince Albert is 26% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$17.52 CA$24.49

-37.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$71.2 CA$99.5

-39.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.02 CA$12.61

30.60%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.68 CA$5.14

3.53%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$2.06 CA$2.89

-37.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$1.86 CA$2.60

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$4.33 CA$6.06

-26.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$6.24 CA$8.73

-20.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.21 CA$1.69

16.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.45 CA$2.02

53.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$2.45 CA$3.43

-42.04%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$3.61 CA$5.05

-30.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$6.94 CA$9.70

4.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$8.46 CA$11.83

-8.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$4.16 CA$5.81

205.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$4.07 CA$5.69

-31.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.48 CA$2.07

-7.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$4.28 CA$5.99

-40.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$3.19 CA$4.45

-33.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.11 CA$2.95

-8.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$2.18 CA$3.04

-13.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$2.89 CA$4.04

-60.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$1.50 CA$2.09

-21.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$10.62 CA$14.85

-59.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$13.93 CA$19.48

-28.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$2.85 CA$3.99

-44.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$3.48 CA$4.86

-23.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$1.56 CA$2.18

-64.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$39.11 CA$54.7

-31.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.00 CA$4.19

65.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.84 CA$1.17

296.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$14.25 CA$19.91

-62.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.08 CA$1.51

33.33%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$22.2K CA$31.0K

-6.95%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$22.0K CA$30.8K

6.43%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$53.2 CA$74.4

59.26%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$47.67 CA$66.6

-50.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$60.3 CA$84.3

-52.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$118 CA$165

-51.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$16.03 CA$22.40

80.35%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$9.52 CA$13.30

-46.01%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$492 CA$688

-58.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$14.5K CA$20.3K

-73.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$49.52 CA$69.2

-12.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$35.48 CA$49.58

16.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$86.9 CA$121

-14.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$107 CA$150

-16.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$914 CA$1,277

7.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$694 CA$970

-45.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$1,432 CA$2,001

19.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$780 CA$1,090

37.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$4,334 CA$6,057

-9.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$3,716 CA$5,194

65.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,755 CA$3,851

-73.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.8

138.54%

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 Prince Albert: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Prince Albert

$694 40.6% 82.3% $314

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Prince Albert

$278 16.3% 9.1% $23

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Prince Albert

$261 15.3% 29.1% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Prince Albert

$161 9.4% 17.8% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Prince Albert

$126 7.3% 12.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Prince Albert

$137 8% 104% $70

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Prince Albert

$53 3.1% 4.1% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $914 in Prince Albert. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Prince Albert are about 3.8 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 $71 in Prince Albert. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $278 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Prince Albert

🕒 Local time

16:01 4:01 PM

15:01 3:01 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

35,129

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 CAD = 0.715 USD

1 CAD = 0.638 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.715 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.638 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Prince Albert 3,960 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Prince Albert

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 Prince Albert: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Prince Albert is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,565 in Prince Albert. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $980 in Playa del Carmen and $914 in Prince Albert. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,710 in Prince Albert. That makes Playa del Carmen about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 32% 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 $1,204, than in Prince Albert at $1,710. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Prince Albert it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,710 in Prince Albert. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Prince Albert makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.