Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sagamihara

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Sagamihara: $1,204 and $1,228 a month, rent and utilities included.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Sagamihara, Japan
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Sagamihara
🇯🇵 Japan
$1,228
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,228 in Sagamihara, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Sagamihara $1,228

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,005 in Sagamihara, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Sagamihara $2,005

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,783 in Sagamihara, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Sagamihara $2,783

Playa del Carmen and Sagamihara have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sagamihara are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sagamihara 10% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$205
$8.50 ¥1,342
28.47%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$813
$31.84 ¥5,029
36.21%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$221
$5.16 ¥815
128.29%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.4
$2.59 ¥410
47.10%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$24.03
$1.26 ¥199
1.59%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.67
$0.90 ¥143
-13.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.3
$3.13 ¥495
1.28%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$92.5
$3.21 ¥507
53.58%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.35
$0.94 ¥148
50.00%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.54
$0.64 ¥101
246.88%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.56
$4.12 ¥651
-65.53%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.27
$1.87 ¥295
34.76%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$136
$15.93 ¥2,516
-54.43%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$144
$6.79 ¥1,072
13.40%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$238
$17.23 ¥2,721
-26.35%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$52.2
$2.27 ¥359
22.47%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.64
$1.56 ¥246
-12.18%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.80
$5.09 ¥803
-49.90%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.78
$7.87 ¥1,242
-73.06%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.32
$3.91 ¥618
-50.38%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.34
$4.76 ¥751
-60.29%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.49
$1.13 ¥178
1.77%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$22.09
$0.46 ¥72.5
156.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.5
$3.98 ¥628
8.04%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$186
$9.74 ¥1,539
2.16%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.67
$2.62 ¥413
-39.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$50.1
$2.15 ¥340
24.19%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.37
$1.41 ¥222
-60.99%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$499
$61.3 ¥9,687
-56.60%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$93.1
$3.26 ¥515
52.45%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.4
$2.83 ¥448
17.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$100
$16.00 ¥2,526
-66.50%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$27.06
$1.12 ¥176
28.57%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$387.3K
$22.0K ¥3.5M
-6.25%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$439.7K
$15.1K ¥2.4M
55.88%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,589
$116 ¥18.3K
-27.02%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$439
$23.59 ¥3,726
-0.76%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$537
$30.85 ¥4,872
-7.10%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,069
$47.70 ¥7,534
19.60%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$542
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$96.3
$12.65 ¥1,998
-59.37%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,871
$681 ¥107.6K
-69.69%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.6K
$14.8K ¥2.3M
-73.47%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$812
$49.89 ¥7,879
-13.11%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$777
$36.43 ¥5,753
13.75%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,390
$61.4 ¥9,703
20.77%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,672
$97.4 ¥15.4K
-8.32%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.4K
$614 ¥97.0K
59.51%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,136
$322 ¥50.9K
18.20%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$32.0K
$1,137 ¥179.5K
50.25%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.1K
$824 ¥130.1K
30.51%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$73.9K
$4,239 ¥669.5K
-6.99%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$115.4K
$2,512 ¥396.7K
145.14%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Sagamihara
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.8K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
2.02
466.83%

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 Sagamihara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Sagamihara
$322 15.4% $59
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Sagamihara
$322 26.3% $67
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Sagamihara
$145 28.2% $57
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Sagamihara
$171 24.7% $34
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Sagamihara
$110 1.3% $1.4
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Sagamihara
$73 8.4% $5.7
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Sagamihara
$84 67.3% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $614 in Sagamihara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $32 in Sagamihara. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $322 in Sagamihara – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇯🇵 Sagamihara
🕒 Local time
12:36 12:36 PM
02:36 2:36 AM
14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
725,493
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Sagamihara 12,080 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Sagamihara

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 Sagamihara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,841 in Sagamihara. 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 Sagamihara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $614 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.
How do food prices compare in Playa del Carmen and in Sagamihara?
Groceries cost about 26% more in Sagamihara, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $681 in Sagamihara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,500 enough for either Playa del Carmen or Sagamihara?
$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,228 in Sagamihara, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.
Is it better to live in Playa del Carmen or in Sagamihara?
It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,228 in Sagamihara. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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