Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Rustenburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Rustenburg: $799 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Rustenburg
Learn more

Rustenburg Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Rustenburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$799

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $799 in Rustenburg, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Rustenburg $799

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,318 in Rustenburg, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Rustenburg $1,318

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,837 in Rustenburg, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Rustenburg $1,837

Playa del Carmen costs about 51% more than Rustenburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Rustenburg are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Rustenburg 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$6.11 R 101

76.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$43.66 R 719

-1.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$6.28 R 103

87.74%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.03 R 33.47

90.64%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.96 R 15.75

42.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.50 R 8.26

68.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.48 R 24.37

109.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.09 R 34.40

142.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.12 R 18.38

28.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.99 R 16.36

125.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.77 R 29.20

-16.95%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.70 R 44.53

-6.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.35 R 121

-0.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.01 R 82.6

56.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$6.44 R 106

98.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.76 R 29.00

64.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.59 R 26.27

-9.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.79 R 29.47

42.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.14 R 18.78

80.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.33 R 21.96

50.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.09 R 17.89

84.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.28 R 21.15

-7.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.94 R 15.48

34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.12 R 51.5

41.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.96 R 98.2

60.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.58 R 9.55

174.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$0.95 R 15.61

195.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.82 R 13.48

507.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.88 R 14.42

297.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$14.67 R 242

-63.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.43 R 23.55

2.80%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$28.4K R 468.3K

-26.17%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$27.6K R 455.5K

-13.54%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$74.9 R 1,233

12.51%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$13.66 R 225

75.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$36.01 R 593

-19.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$21.21 R 349

196.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$6.21 R 102

369.24%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$4.94 R 81.5

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

$204 MX$3,763

$112 R 1,841

82.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,493 R 90.5K

-28.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$43.05 R 709

1.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$46.85 R 772

-7.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$109 R 1,798

-30.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$54.7 R 901

61.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$336 R 5,537

200.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$239 R 3,937

56.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$717 R 11.8K

138.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$520 R 8,559

112.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,085 R 17.9K

-30.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.9

15.66%

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 Rustenburg: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Rustenburg

$239 29.9% 36.1% $135

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Rustenburg

$176 22% 31.9% $83

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Rustenburg

$110 13.7% 45.9% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Rustenburg

$125 15.6% 9.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Rustenburg

$114 14.3% 1% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Rustenburg

$31 3.9% 57.3% $42

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Rustenburg

$5.2 * 0.7% 90.1% $47

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 $336 in Rustenburg. 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 44% higher in Rustenburg, 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $44.00 in Rustenburg. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $176 in Rustenburg – so Rustenburg wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Rustenburg

🕒 Local time

12:19 12:19 PM

19:19 7:19 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

549,575

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Rustenburg 13,340 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Rustenburg

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 Rustenburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 51%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,199 in Rustenburg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rustenburg, 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 $799 in Rustenburg. That's a gap of about 51%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $112 in Rustenburg. 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 Rustenburg, where all-in costs run around $799, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Rustenburg it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Rustenburg – 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 Rustenburg. 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.