Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Salento

For one person, living is cheaper in Salento: $797 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Salento
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Salento Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Salento

🇨🇴 Colombia

$797

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $797 in Salento, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Salento $797

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,212 in Salento, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Salento $1,212

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,627 in Salento, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Salento $1,627

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

Both Playa del Carmen and Salento are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Salento 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$3.85 COP 12.5K

177.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$23.41 COP 75.9K

87.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$7.45 COP 24.2K

58.26%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.56 COP 5,071

142.95%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.93 COP 3,013

39.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.57 COP 1,855

45.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$1.14 COP 3,698

176.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$2.14 COP 6,952

130.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.11 COP 3,599

27.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.30 COP 4,231

69.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.14 COP 3,708

28.95%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.14 COP 6,946

16.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$4.56 COP 14.8K

59.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$5.43 COP 17.6K

46.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$7.42 COP 24.1K

73.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.46 COP 7,992

17.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.09 COP 3,533

26.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.30 COP 4,228

91.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.11 COP 3,588

82.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.15 COP 3,731

75.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.13 COP 3,681

68.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.87 COP 2,830

31.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.65 COP 2,095

90.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$2.35 COP 7,621

81.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$9.34 COP 30.3K

5.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.08 COP 3,511

47.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$1.74 COP 5,630

58.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.69 COP 2,234

-26.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$29.71 COP 96.4K

-7.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.48 COP 4,802

221.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.70 COP 5,516

91.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$6.08 COP 19.7K

-11.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$0.96 COP 3,098

59.38%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$17.7K COP 57.5M

19.60%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$25.0K COP 81.2M

-7.12%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$83.6 COP 271.0K

-0.08%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$8.89 COP 28.8K

160.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$22.56 COP 73.2K

22.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$23.36 COP 75.8K

141.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$4.04 COP 13.1K

23.76%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$242 COP 786.0K

-14.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$5,913 COP 19.2M

-11.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$57.8 COP 187.5K

-24.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$32.60 COP 105.7K

30.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$84.6 COP 274.2K

-13.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$73.7 COP 239.1K

19.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$274 COP 888.6K

263.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$234 COP 758.3K

63.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$525 COP 1.7M

219.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$418 COP 1.4M

158.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,417 COP 4.6M

175.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,069 COP 3.5M

474.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

13.06

-12.33%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Salento: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Salento

$234 29.3% 38.9% $149

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Salento

$175 21.9% 32.2% $83

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Salento

$88 11% 56.1% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Salento

$115 14.4% 14.4% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Salento

$112 14% 0.6% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Salento

$31 4% 52.7% $35

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Salento

$42 5.3% 15.9% $8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $274 in Salento. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Salento. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $175 – making Salento the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 Salento

🕒 Local time

02:36 2:36 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

9,748

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,636 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Salento 2,170 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Salento

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 Salento: 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 $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,196 in Salento. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Salento, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $274 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $797 in Salento. That makes Salento about 34% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 8% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Salento, where all-in costs run around $797, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Salento it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $797 in Salento to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.