Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Puerto Escondido

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Escondido: $1,151 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $710 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Escondido
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Puerto Escondido Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Puerto Escondido

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Puerto Escondido

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,151 in Puerto Escondido, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Puerto Escondido $1,151

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,856 in Puerto Escondido, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Puerto Escondido $1,856

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,561 in Puerto Escondido, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Puerto Escondido $2,561

Playa del Carmen costs about 5% more than Puerto Escondido, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Playa del Carmen and Puerto Escondido are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Puerto Escondido 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$10.52 MX$194

2.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$42.96 MX$794

0.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$8.65 MX$160

36.30%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.58 MX$66.1

8.10%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.42 MX$26.25

-3.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.05 MX$19.38

-20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.04 MX$56.2

1.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.05 MX$74.9

25.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.85 MX$34.14

-22.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.84 MX$52.5

-21.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.64 MX$30.22

-10.37%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.80 MX$51.7

-9.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.20 MX$152

-10.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$10.98 MX$203

-28.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$11.54 MX$213

10.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.68 MX$49.45

8.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.59 MX$29.42

-9.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.86 MX$34.42

37.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.73 MX$32.01

19.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.59 MX$29.46

25.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.02 MX$37.35

-0.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.48 MX$27.28

-19.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.14 MX$21.15

10.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.48 MX$82.7

-1.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$10.36 MX$191

-7.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.46 MX$45.43

-35.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.09 MX$57.1

-9.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.83 MX$15.35

-31.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.80 MX$51.7

77.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.78 MX$32.92

96.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$9.89 MX$183

-45.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.36 MX$25.14

8.09%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$18.7K MX$344.9K

12.44%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$25.2K MX$465.2K

-5.04%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$64.7 MX$1,196

30.15%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$22.92 MX$424

4.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$36.45 MX$674

-20.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$27.77 MX$513

126.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$19.89 MX$368

46.51%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$4.56 MX$84.2

8.33%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$220 MX$4,069

-7.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$4,364 MX$80.6K

-9.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$49.88 MX$922

-12.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$42.79 MX$791

0.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$91.6 MX$1,693

-17.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$84.0 MX$1,553

5.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$601 MX$11.1K

67.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$382 MX$7,061

-2.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$960 MX$17.7K

78.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$778 MX$14.4K

42.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,036 MX$37.6K

93.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,289 MX$23.8K

378.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$327 MX$6,035

130.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.3

1.33%

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 Puerto Escondido: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Puerto Escondido

$382 33.2% 2.2% $8.1

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Puerto Escondido

$285 24.8% 10.4% $27

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Puerto Escondido

$186 16.2% 7.9% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Puerto Escondido

$124 10.8% 9.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Puerto Escondido

$121 10.5% 6.9% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Puerto Escondido

$37 3.2% 49.4% $36

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Puerto Escondido

$15 * 1.3% 71.4% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $601 in Puerto Escondido. 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 131% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $43.00 in Puerto Escondido. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $285 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Puerto Escondido

🕒 Local time

17:36 5:36 PM

16:36 4:36 PM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

25,902

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Puerto Escondido 1,180 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Puerto Escondido

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 Escondido: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,726 in Puerto Escondido. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Puerto Escondido, 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 $1,151 in Puerto Escondido. That's a gap of about 5%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $220 in Puerto Escondido. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Puerto Escondido, where all-in costs run around $1,151, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Puerto Escondido it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Puerto Escondido – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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