Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Bernardo

For one person, living is cheaper in San Bernardo: $895 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
43

Cost of Living Index in San Bernardo
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San Bernardo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

San Bernardo

🇨🇱 Chile

$895

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $895 in San Bernardo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
San Bernardo $895

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,397 in San Bernardo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Bernardo $1,397

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,899 in San Bernardo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
San Bernardo $1,899

Playa del Carmen costs about 34% more than San Bernardo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Bernardo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, San Bernardo 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.39 CLP 7,244

44.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$25.03 CLP 24.5K

74.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.67 CLP 6,536

76.76%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.60 CLP 2,549

45.77%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.95 CLP 929

36.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.00 CLP 980

-17.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.93 CLP 3,851

-19.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.52 CLP 4,427

9.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.08 CLP 1,057

30.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.29 CLP 1,264

70.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.61 CLP 1,582

-8.70%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.92 CLP 3,845

-36.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$11.06 CLP 10.8K

-34.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.40 CLP 4,309

80.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$10.44 CLP 10.2K

23.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.86 CLP 1,822

55.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.48 CLP 1,448

-6.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.42 CLP 1,393

75.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.69 CLP 1,655

20.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.83 CLP 812

143.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.79 CLP 777

140.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.16 CLP 1,141

-1.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.06 CLP 1,040

16.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.25 CLP 3,185

31.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$5.87 CLP 5,752

67.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.53 CLP 1,500

3.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.31 CLP 2,266

19.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.84 CLP 826

-39.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.38 CLP 373

1152.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.90 CLP 880

261.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$11.63 CLP 11.4K

-53.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.36 CLP 1,334

12.50%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$16.9K CLP 16.5M

25.69%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$25.1K CLP 24.6M

-7.14%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$124 CLP 121.2K

-32.47%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$11.82 CLP 11.6K

96.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$16.26 CLP 15.9K

69.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$19.36 CLP 19.0K

191.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.32 CLP 7,171

-31.69%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$442 CLP 433.2K

-53.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$10.7K CLP 10.5M

-51.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$35.97 CLP 35.3K

20.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$26.70 CLP 26.2K

59.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$66.6 CLP 65.3K

9.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$81.0 CLP 79.4K

9.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$267 CLP 261.9K

272.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$250 CLP 244.9K

53.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$697 CLP 682.9K

140.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$536 CLP 525.2K

101.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,858 CLP 1.8M

110.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,374 CLP 1.3M

346.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,333 CLP 1.3M

-37.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.39

112.43%

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 San Bernardo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

San Bernardo

$250 27.9% 34.7% $133

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

San Bernardo

$210 23.5% 18.4% $47

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

San Bernardo

$147 16.4% 26.7% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

San Bernardo

$152 17% 13% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

San Bernardo

$95 10.6% 14.9% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

San Bernardo

$34 3.8% 48.8% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Bernardo

$8.2 * 0.9% 83.7% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $267 in San Bernardo. 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 60% higher in San Bernardo, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $25 in San Bernardo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $210 – making San Bernardo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇱 San Bernardo

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

16:10 4:10 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

290,912

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.2 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 980 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,097 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.11 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Bernardo 6,270 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Bernardo

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 Bernardo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 34%, 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 $1,343 in San Bernardo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Bernardo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $267 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $895 in San Bernardo. That makes San Bernardo about 26% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $442 in San Bernardo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $895 in San Bernardo. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $895 in San Bernardo to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.