Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Antonio

For one person, living is cheaper in San Antonio: $607 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in San Antonio
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San Antonio Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

San Antonio

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in San Antonio

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $607 in San Antonio, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
San Antonio $607

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,032 in San Antonio, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Antonio $1,032

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,458 in San Antonio, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
San Antonio $1,458

Playa del Carmen costs about 98% more than San Antonio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Antonio are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, San Antonio 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.80 ₲40.6K

60.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$43.91 ₲261.9K

-1.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.77 ₲40.4K

74.00%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.52 ₲21.0K

8.24%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.08 ₲6,459

18.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.60 ₲3,595

30.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.04 ₲12.2K

55.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.80 ₲10.7K

173.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.31 ₲7,813

7.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.51 ₲9,036

47.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.32 ₲7,853

7.58%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$2.39 ₲14.2K

5.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$9.94 ₲59.3K

-26.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.27 ₲31.4K

46.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$10.22 ₲61.0K

24.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.98 ₲17.8K

-6.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.32 ₲7,846

3.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.17 ₲7,002

117.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$2.41 ₲14.4K

-12.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.35 ₲8,060

43.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.30 ₲7,725

45.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.88 ₲5,240

30.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.78 ₲4,627

51.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.41 ₲14.4K

78.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.28 ₲55.3K

7.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.37 ₲8,177

15.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.77 ₲10.6K

50.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$1.52 ₲9,072

226.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.52 ₲9,059

119.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$10.39 ₲62.0K

-48.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.27 ₲7,568

13.39%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$17.1K ₲101.7M

21.18%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$30.5K ₲181.8M

-23.01%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$50.7 ₲302.3K

67.34%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$17.70 ₲105.6K

32.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$22.10 ₲131.8K

29.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$8.92 ₲53.2K

-42.38%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$184 ₲1.1M

12.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$5,737 ₲34.2M

-31.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$65.0 ₲387.9K

-33.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$56.1 ₲334.9K

-26.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$105 ₲627.7K

-29.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$71.2 ₲424.6K

25.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.5

9.05%

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 San Antonio: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

San Antonio

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

San Antonio

$218 35.9% 14.5% $37

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

San Antonio

$138 22.7% 32% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

San Antonio

$90 14.9% 33.9% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

San Antonio

$134 22.1% 19.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

San Antonio

$18 * 2.9% 73.5% $49

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Antonio

$9.1 * 1.5% 81.9% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $44 in San Antonio. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $218 in San Antonio – so San Antonio wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇾 San Antonio

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

22:37 10:37 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

68,127

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.68 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.5 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PYG, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 5,965 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.68 USD). 1 EUR = 6,660 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.5 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Antonio 6,030 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Antonio

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 San Antonio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 98%, 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 $910 in San Antonio. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Groceries cost about 17% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $184 in San Antonio. 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 San Antonio, where all-in costs run around $607, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In San Antonio 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 $607 in San Antonio to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.