Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Quba

For one person, living is cheaper in Quba: $557 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Quba, Azerbaijan
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Quba
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
$557
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Quba

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $557 in Quba, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Quba $557

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $891 in Quba, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Quba $891

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,224 in Quba, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Quba $1,224

Playa del Carmen costs about 116% more than Quba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Quba are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Quba 59% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$203
$8.19 ₼13.92
33.33%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$808
$29.29 ₼49.78
48.07%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$219
$5.86 ₼9.96
101.02%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.0
$1.16 ₼1.97
228.45%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$23.89
$0.46 ₼0.78
178.26%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.58
$0.28 ₼0.47
178.57%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.0
$1.19 ₼2.03
166.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$91.9
$2.39 ₼4.06
106.28%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.20
$1.30 ₼2.22
8.46%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.30
$0.35 ₼0.60
534.29%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.40
$1.15 ₼1.96
23.48%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.00
$1.12 ₼1.90
125.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$135
$1.75 ₼2.97
314.86%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$143
$2.90 ₼4.93
165.52%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$236
$8.81 ₼14.97
44.04%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$51.9
$0.62 ₼1.06
348.39%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.49
$1.27 ₼2.17
7.87%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.52
$1.43 ₼2.43
78.32%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.55
$1.05 ₼1.78
101.90%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.11
$0.61 ₼1.03
218.03%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.13
$0.52 ₼0.89
263.46%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.36
$0.44 ₼0.74
161.36%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$21.96
$0.59 ₼1.01
100.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.0
$3.61 ₼6.13
19.11%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$185
$5.25 ₼8.92
89.52%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.50
$0.92 ₼1.57
71.74%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$49.76
$1.90 ₼3.23
40.53%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.31
$0.27 ₼0.46
103.70%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$496
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$92.6
$1.16 ₼1.97
328.45%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.1
$0.30 ₼0.51
1010.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$99.8
$2.88 ₼4.90
86.11%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$26.90
$0.62 ₼1.05
132.26%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$385.0K
$26.9K ₼45.8K
-23.25%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$437.2K
$26.0K ₼44.1K
-9.59%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,580
$33.05 ₼56.2
156.55%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$436
$12.79 ₼21.74
83.03%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$534
$14.85 ₼25.23
93.00%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,063
$38.14 ₼64.8
49.58%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$539
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$95.7
$4.05 ₼6.88
26.91%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,848
$274 ₼466
-24.67%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.2K
$16.1K ₼27.4K
-75.68%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$808
$17.73 ₼30.13
144.50%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$772
$29.76 ₼50.6
39.25%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,382
$129 ₼219
-42.49%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,663
$34.99 ₼59.5
155.07%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.2K
$179 ₼304
446.97%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,095
$116 ₼197
227.84%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$31.8K
$267 ₼453
540.35%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.0K
$177 ₼300
508.38%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$73.5K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$114.7K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Quba
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.7K
$209 ₼354
252.28%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
20
-42.75%

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 Quba: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Quba
$116 69.5% $265
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Quba
$124 51.3% $131
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Quba
$111 45.3% $92
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Quba
$61 55.7% $76
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Quba
$95 14.8% $17
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Quba
$46 31.3% $21
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Quba
$3.8 * 92.5% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $179 in Quba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 3.5 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 $29 in Quba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $124 – making Quba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇦🇿 Quba
🕒 Local time
23:26 11:26 PM
08:26 8:26 AM
9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
25,400
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

AZN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Azerbaijani Manat exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.7 AZN (1 AZN = 0.588 USD). 1 EUR = 1.89 AZN (1 AZN = 0.529 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Quba 11,740 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Quba

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 Quba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Quba cheaper than Playa del Carmen?
Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 116%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $835 in Quba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Quba, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $179 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Quba?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $557 in Quba. That makes Quba about 54% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $274 in Quba. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,200 a realistic budget for living in Playa del Carmen or in Quba?
A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Quba, where all-in costs run around $557, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Quba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is it better to live in Playa del Carmen or in Quba?
It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $557 in Quba to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Quba. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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