Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Puntarenas Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Puntarenas

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 10% more expensive than Puntarenas without rent, and 0.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 18.4% cheaper than Puntarenas without rent, and 15.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.61 MX$200

$7.24 ₡3,320

60.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.75 MX$738

$60.2 ₡27.6K

-29.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 MX$183

$8.99 ₡4,124

17.91%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$62.0

$3.95 ₡1,814

-9.11%

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

$1.45 MX$25.08

$2.07 ₡947

-29.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.50

$1.63 ₡749

-44.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.03 MX$52.4

$2.93 ₡1,344

3.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 MX$78.8

$4.53 ₡2,080

0.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$25.07

$2.06 ₡943

-29.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 MX$31.55

$2.81 ₡1,289

-34.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 MX$27.77

$1.97 ₡904

-18.27%

Eggs

$2.54 MX$43.82

$2.26 ₡1,038

12.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.54 MX$148

$3.40 ₡1,562

151.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.47 MX$146

$8.11 ₡3,720

4.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.86 MX$188

$9.14 ₡4,194

18.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 MX$47.13

$3.52 ₡1,615

-22.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$25.77

$1.01 ₡463

47.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$33.55

$1.16 ₡534

67.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 MX$37.38

$1.38 ₡632

56.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 MX$31.88

$1.61 ₡737

14.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$37.80

$1.63 ₡750

34.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.52

$0.76 ₡351

40.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$18.71

$1.92 ₡879

-43.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 MX$70.1

$4.51 ₡2,071

-9.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.46 MX$181

$8.25 ₡3,783

26.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 MX$28.56

$1.70 ₡781

-2.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 MX$44.01

$2.37 ₡1,086

7.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 MX$9.60

$0.96 ₡441

-41.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.20 MX$453

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.14 MX$54.2

$1.86 ₡853

68.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.37 MX$40.96

$1.86 ₡853

27.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$56.0

$7.75 ₡3,557

-58.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$22.70

$1.32 ₡607

-0.76%

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

$30.5K MX$527.4K

$38.2K ₡17.5M

-20.09%

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

$23.8K MX$411.4K

$16.6K ₡7.6M

43.19%

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

$83.1 MX$1,436

$49.64 ₡22.8K

67.49%

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

$22.15 MX$383

$19.84 ₡9,099

11.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.37 MX$507

$24.27 ₡11.1K

21.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 MX$884

$56.0 ₡25.7K

-8.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.69 MX$323

$23.68 ₡10.9K

-21.07%

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 MX$84.4

$9.74 ₡4,469

-49.79%

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

$199 MX$3,431

$573 ₡263.0K

-65.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,207 MX$89.9K

$12.9K ₡5.9M

-59.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.93 MX$621

$24.20 ₡11.1K

48.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.39 MX$680

$15.65 ₡7,177

151.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.3 MX$1,387

$125 ₡57.2K

-35.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 MX$1,512

$48.02 ₡22.0K

82.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$963 MX$16.6K

$758 ₡347.6K

27.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,326

$589 ₡270.4K

-18.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 MX$28.4K

$1,529 ₡701.2K

7.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 MX$20.6K

$975 ₡447.1K

22.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,957 MX$68.3K

$992 ₡454.9K

299.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,513 MX$112.5K

$650 ₡298.3K

901.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$726 MX$12.5K

$948 ₡434.7K

-23.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

90.33%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: April 12, 2026

Last update for Puntarenas: April 12, 2026

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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