Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Roodepoort

For one person, living is cheaper in Roodepoort: $1,172 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $380 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Roodepoort
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Roodepoort Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Roodepoort

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,172

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,172 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Roodepoort $1,172

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,767 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Roodepoort $1,767

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,362 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Roodepoort $2,362

Playa del Carmen costs about 3% more than Roodepoort, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Roodepoort are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Roodepoort 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$12.00 R 200

-9.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$44.96 R 748

-3.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.11 R 118

65.68%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.43 R 40.47

56.79%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.13 R 18.87

13.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.98 R 16.28

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.44 R 40.53

29.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$2.78 R 46.26

77.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.21 R 20.16

16.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.15 R 19.12

93.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.78 R 29.68

-20.22%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$2.51 R 41.77

0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.79 R 146

-17.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.38 R 89.5

43.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$8.88 R 148

42.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.86 R 30.94

49.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.79 R 29.77

-23.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.73 R 28.78

47.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$2.13 R 35.43

-0.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.72 R 28.58

12.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.77 R 29.40

6.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.21 R 20.18

-4.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$1.26 R 20.91

-6.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.50 R 58.2

22.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$5.85 R 97.3

70.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.52 R 25.34

3.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.91 R 31.75

39.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.81 R 13.43

-32.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$0.81 R 13.40

513.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.88 R 14.71

278.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$14.69 R 244

-63.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.56 R 25.91

-7.69%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$34.7K R 577.7K

-40.48%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$35.1K R 583.8K

-33.13%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$226 R 3,761

-62.50%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$39.16 R 652

-40.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$37.33 R 621

-23.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$47.68 R 793

19.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$7.35 R 122

-30.07%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$238 R 3,967

-13.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$5,476 R 91.1K

-28.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$52.1 R 866

-16.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$32.49 R 541

27.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$110 R 1,822

-32.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$88.4 R 1,471

0.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$598 R 9,957

63.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$289 R 4,800

32.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$1,530 R 25.5K

11.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$531 R 8,828

102.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,519 R 25.3K

-51.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.25

1.78%

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 Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Roodepoort

$289 24.6% 24.2% $92

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Roodepoort

$210 17.9% 17.6% $45

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Roodepoort

$173 14.7% 14.7% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Roodepoort

$303 25.8% 121% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Roodepoort

$127 10.9% 13.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Roodepoort

$62 5.3% 7.3% $4.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Roodepoort

$8.5 * 0.7% 83.2% $42

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 $598 in Roodepoort. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Roodepoort are about 2.1 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $45 in Roodepoort. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $210 in Roodepoort – so Roodepoort wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Roodepoort

🕒 Local time

09:32 9:32 AM

16:32 4:32 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

325,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.57 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Roodepoort 13,420 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Roodepoort

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 Roodepoort: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 3%, 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 $1,758 in Roodepoort. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Roodepoort, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $598 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,172 in Roodepoort. That makes Roodepoort about 3% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $238 in Roodepoort. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,172 in Roodepoort, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,172 in Roodepoort to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.