Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Saint-Louis

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Louis: $837 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Louis
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Saint-Louis Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Saint-Louis

🇸🇳 Senegal

$837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Saint-Louis

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 Saint-Louis actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $837 in Saint-Louis, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Saint-Louis $837

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,315 in Saint-Louis, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Saint-Louis $1,315

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,792 in Saint-Louis, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Saint-Louis $1,792

Playa del Carmen costs about 44% more than Saint-Louis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Saint-Louis are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Saint-Louis 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$3.45 F CFA 2,009

214.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$53.3 F CFA 31.1K

-16.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$11.12 F CFA 6,484

5.76%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.34 F CFA 1,950

10.18%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.24 F CFA 725

8.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.91 F CFA 529

-9.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.68 F CFA 982

82.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.37 F CFA 2,545

13.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.59 F CFA 1,509

-43.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.27 F CFA 158

722.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.65 F CFA 963

-10.30%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.40 F CFA 1,399

3.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$17.50 F CFA 10.2K

-57.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$9.12 F CFA 5,315

-12.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$10.94 F CFA 6,378

14.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.24 F CFA 1,888

-14.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.85 F CFA 1,079

-22.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.97 F CFA 1,729

-11.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.79 F CFA 1,042

19.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.36 F CFA 791

48.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.92 F CFA 535

116.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.09 F CFA 636

4.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.68 F CFA 397

76.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.18 F CFA 1,272

95.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$17.00 F CFA 9,911

-41.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.53 F CFA 891

0.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.33 F CFA 1,942

-20.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.86 F CFA 502

469.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.19 F CFA 1,279

56.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$16.98 F CFA 9,899

-68.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.61 F CFA 939

-9.94%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$50.3K F CFA 29.3M

-57.94%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$47.3K F CFA 27.6M

-51.38%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$204 F CFA 118.8K

-58.11%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$11.80 F CFA 6,883

98.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$45.79 F CFA 26.7K

-37.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$8.37 F CFA 4,882

-39.07%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$326 F CFA 189.9K

-38.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$10.2K F CFA 6.0M

-61.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$59.2 F CFA 34.5K

-25.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$46.50 F CFA 27.1K

-11.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$84.5 F CFA 49.3K

-13.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$98.7 F CFA 57.6K

-9.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$433 F CFA 252.2K

126.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.75

30.86%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Saint-Louis: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Saint-Louis

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Saint-Louis

$290 34.7% 12.4% $32

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Saint-Louis

$127 15.1% 36.7% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Saint-Louis

$261 31.2% 90.4% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Saint-Louis

$130 15.5% 16.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Saint-Louis

$17 * 2% 76.9% $56

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Saint-Louis

$12 * 1.4% 77.1% $40

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $433 in Saint-Louis. 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $53.0 in Saint-Louis. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $290 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇳 Saint-Louis

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

12:43 12:43 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

176,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 583 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Saint-Louis 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Saint-Louis

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 Saint-Louis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 44%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,256 in Saint-Louis. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Saint-Louis, 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $837 in Saint-Louis. That's a gap of about 44%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $326 in Saint-Louis. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Saint-Louis, where all-in costs run around $837, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Saint-Louis it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Saint-Louis – 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 Saint-Louis. 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.