Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Puerto De La Libertad

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto De La Libertad: $833 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Puerto De La Libertad
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Puerto De La Libertad Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Puerto De La Libertad

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$833

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Puerto De La Libertad

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 Puerto De La Libertad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $833 in Puerto De La Libertad, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Puerto De La Libertad $833

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,335 in Puerto De La Libertad, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Puerto De La Libertad $1,335

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,836 in Puerto De La Libertad, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Puerto De La Libertad $1,836

Playa del Carmen costs about 45% more than Puerto De La Libertad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Puerto De La Libertad are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Puerto De La Libertad 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$6.60 $6.60

65.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$44.41 $44.41

-2.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.83 $6.83

72.47%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.64 $3.64

4.67%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.12 $1.12

14.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.80 $0.80

-2.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.96 $1.96

61.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.64 $3.64

35.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.83 $1.83

-22.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$2.84 $2.84

-21.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.39 $1.39

2.16%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.96 $2.96

-14.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.94 $7.94

-8.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.87 $6.87

12.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.17 $10.17

24.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.96 $4.96

-43.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.44 $1.44

-4.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.69 $2.69

-5.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$3.48 $3.48

-39.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.95 $2.95

-34.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$3.22 $3.22

-41.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.04 $1.04

10.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.97 $0.97

21.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.90 $3.90

10.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.19 $12.19

-18.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.19 $2.19

-27.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.96 $2.96

-9.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$5.96 $5.96

-16.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.97 $2.97

12.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$20.03 $20.03

-73.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.27 $1.27

13.39%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$24.7K $24.7K

-16.29%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$26.8K $26.8K

-12.42%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$131 $131

-35.41%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$21.60 $21.60

8.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$43.24 $43.24

-33.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$20.18 $20.18

182.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.93 $4.93

4.26%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$162 $162

27.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$4,758 $4,758

-17.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$68.4 $68.4

-36.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$46.15 $46.15

-10.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$119 $119

-37.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$117 $117

-23.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.5

34.71%

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 Puerto De La Libertad: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Puerto De La Libertad

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Puerto De La Libertad

$287 34.4% 12.5% $32

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Puerto De La Libertad

$142 17% 30% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Puerto De La Libertad

$196 23.5% 43.3% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Puerto De La Libertad

$158 18.9% 41.1% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Puerto De La Libertad

$30 3.6% 55.4% $37

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Puerto De La Libertad

$21 * 2.5% 58.7% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $44 in Puerto De La Libertad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $287 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇻 Puerto De La Libertad

🕒 Local time

14:06 2:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

16,855

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Puerto De La Libertad 830 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Puerto De La Libertad

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 Puerto De La Libertad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 45%, 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 $1,250 in Puerto De La Libertad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Interestingly, groceries are about 11% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $162 in Puerto De La Libertad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $833 in Puerto De La Libertad. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $833 in Puerto De La Libertad to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.