Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sal

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $850 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Sal
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Sal Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$850

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $850 in Sal, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Sal $850

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,313 in Sal, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Sal $1,313

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,777 in Sal, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Sal $1,777

Playa del Carmen costs about 42% more than Sal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sal are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Sal 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$5.51 CVE 540

95.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$44.18 CVE 4,332

-2.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.03 CVE 1,081

6.89%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.32 CVE 227

66.81%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.54 CVE 249

-46.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.09 CVE 107

-22.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$4.61 CVE 452

-32.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.07 CVE 301

65.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.58 CVE 155

-8.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.27 CVE 223

-1.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.20 CVE 118

22.50%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.79 CVE 273

-9.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$9.03 CVE 886

-19.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.51 CVE 736

4.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$15.99 CVE 1,568

-20.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.16 CVE 310

-8.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.49 CVE 245

-42.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.33 CVE 326

-23.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.98 CVE 391

-48.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.64 CVE 161

21.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.85 CVE 182

8.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.55 CVE 152

-23.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.10 CVE 108

14.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.57 CVE 448

-3.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$6.40 CVE 628

49.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$4.03 CVE 395

-60.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.88 CVE 184

49.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.99 CVE 96.6

-42.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.08 CVE 204

139.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$3.08 CVE 302

13.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$12.65 CVE 1,240

-57.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.38 CVE 135

6.52%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$60.8 CVE 5,964

38.46%

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

$23.99 MX$443

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$49.23 CVE 4,827

-41.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$27.47 CVE 2,694

129.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

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

$204 MX$3,763

$115 CVE 11.2K

77.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$30.09 CVE 2,950

44.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$144 CVE 14.1K

-38.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$252 CVE 24.7K

300.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$168 CVE 16.5K

122.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$307 CVE 30.1K

456.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$206 CVE 20.2K

436.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$654 CVE 64.1K

503.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$331 CVE 32.5K

1763.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$257 CVE 25.2K

193.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.25

118.10%

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 Sal: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Sal

$168 19.8% 55.1% $206

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Sal

$296 34.8% 14.5% $37

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Sal

$149 17.5% 26.5% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Sal

$110 * 13% 19.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Sal

$78 * 9.2% 30.8% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Sal

$27 * 3.2% 62.3% $45

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Sal

$21 * 2.5% 59.2% $31

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 $252 in Sal. 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 193% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $44.00 in Sal. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $296 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇻 Sal

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

03:26 3:26 AM

4 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,288

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 CVE = 10.2 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CVE, 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).

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 98.05 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sal 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sal

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 Sal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 42%, 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 $1,274 in Sal. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sal, 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 $850 in Sal. That's a gap of about 42%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $115 in Sal. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sal, where all-in costs run around $850, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Sal it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sal – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Sal. 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.