Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Saint Helena

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint Helena: $558 a month against $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
🇸🇭 Saint Helena
$558
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 37.1% more expensive than Saint Helena without rent, and 117.8% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 35.3% more expensive than Saint Helena without rent, and 71.1% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.97 MX$201
$16.00 SHP 12.08
-31.44%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.85 MX$823
$66.2 SHP 49.99
-32.23%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.92 MX$219
$13.38 SHP 10.11
-10.91%
Cappuccino
$3.80 MX$69.9
-
-
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 MX$24.08
$1.21 SHP 0.91
8.26%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.86 MX$15.72
$0.96 SHP 0.72
-10.42%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.21 MX$59.0
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.01 MX$92.0
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 MX$26.77
-
-
White Bread (500g)
$2.33 MX$42.72
$1.98 SHP 1.50
17.68%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.48
-
-
Eggs
$2.46 MX$45.20
$5.17 SHP 3.91
-52.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.70 MX$141
-
-
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.89 MX$145
-
-
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.80 MX$235
$10.81 SHP 8.16
18.41%
Apples (1kg)
$2.92 MX$53.6
-
-
Banana (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.11
-
-
Oranges (1kg)
$2.57 MX$47.10
-
-
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.24
-
-
Potato (1kg)
$1.95 MX$35.75
-
-
Onion (1kg)
$1.94 MX$35.55
-
-
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.13
-
-
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 MX$22.42
$1.31 SHP 0.99
-6.87%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.38 MX$80.3
$11.35 SHP 8.57
-61.41%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.85 MX$181
$15.07 SHP 11.39
-34.64%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 MX$28.23
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 MX$49.86
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.64
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.42 MX$503
$39.73 SHP 30.01
-30.98%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.91 MX$90.2
-
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.52 MX$64.7
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.69 MX$104
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 MX$28.27
$2.44 SHP 1.84
-36.89%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$389.9K
-
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K MX$449.6K
-
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.6 MX$1,535
-
-
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$24.03 MX$441
-
-
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.33 MX$539
$210 SHP 159
-86.05%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$64.9 MX$1,191
$19.60 SHP 14.80
230.97%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.46 MX$541
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.09 MX$93.4
-
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$208 MX$3,813
-
-
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,045 MX$74.3K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.55 MX$818
-
-
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.06 MX$772
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.5 MX$1,387
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$91.4 MX$1,678
-
-
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$986 MX$18.1K
$733 SHP 554
34.52%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$385 MX$7,072
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,713 MX$31.5K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,108 MX$20.4K
$509 SHP 384
117.75%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,016 MX$73.7K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,247 MX$114.7K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Saint Helena
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$758 MX$13.9K
$775 SHP 585
-2.14%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
0
-

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Saint Helena: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$385
Saint Helena
–
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$260
Saint Helena
–
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$204
Saint Helena
–
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Saint Helena
–
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$114
Saint Helena
–
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$75
Saint Helena
–
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$52
Saint Helena
–
Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇸🇭 Saint Helena
🕒 Local time
07:37 7:37 AM
12:37 12:37 PM
5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
5,633
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

SHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Saint Helena Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.755 SHP (1 SHP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.846 SHP (1 SHP = 1.18 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Saint Helena 9,760 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Saint Helena

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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