Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Felipe

For one person, living is cheaper in San Felipe: $1,106 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in San Felipe
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San Felipe Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

San Felipe

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,106 in San Felipe, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
San Felipe $1,106

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,777 in San Felipe, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
San Felipe $1,777

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,448 in San Felipe, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
San Felipe $2,448

Playa del Carmen costs about 9% more than San Felipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Felipe are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, San Felipe 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$7.35 MX$136

47.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$43.63 MX$806

1.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.27 MX$153

42.20%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.49 MX$64.4

5.44%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.35 MX$24.91

-0.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.05 MX$19.41

-21.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.45 MX$45.34

24.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.10 MX$75.8

20.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.64 MX$30.38

-10.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.54 MX$46.89

-12.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.72 MX$31.80

-13.95%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.53 MX$46.82

-1.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$8.42 MX$156

-10.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.46 MX$156

-5.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.72 MX$217

7.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.67 MX$49.26

4.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.53 MX$28.23

-6.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.89 MX$35.02

38.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.83 MX$33.76

16.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.99 MX$36.84

1.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.87 MX$34.64

6.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.43 MX$26.39

-20.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.08 MX$20.02

11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.50 MX$83.1

-5.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$10.26 MX$190

-2.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.75 MX$32.42

-12.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.07 MX$56.8

-13.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.63 MX$11.65

-15.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.63 MX$48.65

86.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.93 MX$35.73

77.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$11.06 MX$204

-51.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.45 MX$26.73

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$21.4K MX$395.3K

-1.10%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$24.5K MX$452.2K

-5.94%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$57.9 MX$1,070

47.43%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$23.12 MX$427

1.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$29.50 MX$545

-3.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$33.66 MX$622

84.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$20.47 MX$378

40.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.36 MX$99.0

-4.85%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$219 MX$4,051

-8.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$4,580 MX$84.6K

-13.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$54.2 MX$1,002

-18.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$40.18 MX$742

2.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$99.7 MX$1,842

-27.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$90.0 MX$1,662

-0.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$617 MX$11.4K

58.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$389 MX$7,184

-4.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,059 MX$19.6K

58.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$757 MX$14.0K

44.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,934 MX$35.7K

104.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,147 MX$21.2K

435.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.3

1.33%

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 San Felipe: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

San Felipe

$389 35.1% 4.3% $16

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

San Felipe

$265 23.9% 2.4% $6.3

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

San Felipe

$156 14.1% 22.3% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

San Felipe

$111 10% 19.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

San Felipe

$128 11.6% 14.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

San Felipe

$44 4% 38.7% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

San Felipe

$15 * 1.3% 71.3% $37

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 $617 in San Felipe. 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 $44.00 in San Felipe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $265 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 San Felipe

🕒 Local time

11:23 11:23 AM

10:23 10:23 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

28,452

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Felipe 1,470 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Felipe

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 Felipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 9%, 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 $1,660 in San Felipe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Felipe, 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 $1,106 in San Felipe. That's a gap of about 9%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $219 in San Felipe. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in San Felipe, where all-in costs run around $1,106, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In San Felipe it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Felipe – 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 San Felipe. 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.