Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Queenstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,370 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
115

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
Learn more

Queenstown Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,370

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,370 in Queenstown, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Queenstown $2,370

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,764 in Queenstown, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Queenstown $3,764

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,158 in Queenstown, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Queenstown $5,158

Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper than Queenstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Queenstown is 74% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$17.26 NZ$30.77

-36.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$86.8 NZ$155

-50.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$9.76 NZ$17.39

20.70%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.28 NZ$5.84

16.16%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.29 NZ$4.08

-44.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.08 NZ$3.71

-62.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$6.75 NZ$12.02

-53.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$6.19 NZ$11.04

-20.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.14 NZ$3.81

-34.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.96 NZ$3.49

13.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.78 NZ$3.17

-20.22%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$5.80 NZ$10.33

-56.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.53 NZ$15.21

-14.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$10.16 NZ$18.11

-24.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$15.81 NZ$28.18

-19.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.92 NZ$5.21

-4.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.40 NZ$4.28

-42.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.89 NZ$6.94

-34.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$5.50 NZ$9.80

-61.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$3.55 NZ$6.33

-45.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.84 NZ$3.28

2.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.42 NZ$4.31

-52.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.97 NZ$3.50

-40.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$27.67 NZ$49.31

-84.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$9.24 NZ$16.47

7.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$4.50 NZ$8.02

-64.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$6.63 NZ$11.81

-59.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.88 NZ$3.35

-70.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$128 NZ$229

-79.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.69 NZ$4.80

84.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.92 NZ$3.43

73.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$29.48 NZ$52.5

-81.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.70 NZ$3.03

-15.29%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$26.7K NZ$47.5K

-22.47%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$22.5K NZ$40.1K

4.20%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$111 NZ$197

-23.29%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$28.93 NZ$51.6

-19.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$51.8 NZ$92.4

-44.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$55.9 NZ$99.6

2.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$26.64 NZ$47.47

8.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$11.17 NZ$19.91

-53.98%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$983 NZ$1,752

-78.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,685 NZ$13.7K

-48.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$60.0 NZ$107

-27.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$46.90 NZ$83.6

-11.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$91.0 NZ$162

-18.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$137 NZ$245

-35.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,523 NZ$2,714

-35.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$1,162 NZ$2,072

-67.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,918 NZ$5,200

-41.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,294 NZ$4,089

-53.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$7,612 NZ$13.6K

-48.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$5,271 NZ$9,395

16.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$3,054 NZ$5,443

-75.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.12

87.09%

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 Queenstown: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Queenstown

$1.2K 49% 205% $782

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Queenstown

$369 15.6% 44.9% $114

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Queenstown

$270 11.4% 33.6% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Queenstown

$191 8.1% 39.8% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Queenstown

$151 6.4% 35.1% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Queenstown

$78 3.3% 16.2% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Queenstown

$148 6.3% 194% $98

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,523 in Queenstown. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Queenstown are about 4.2 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 $87 in Queenstown. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $369 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🕒 Local time

11:07 11:07 AM

05:07 5:07 AM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,450

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Queenstown 12,710 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Queenstown

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 Queenstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Queenstown is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,556 in Queenstown. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,523 in Queenstown.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,370 in Queenstown. That’s a gap of about 97%.

Public transport costs about 79% 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 Queenstown at $2,370. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Queenstown it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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