Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Jose del Monte

For one person, living is cheaper in San Jose del Monte: $702 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
34

Cost of Living Index in San Jose del Monte
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San Jose del Monte Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

San Jose del Monte

🇵🇭 Philippines

$702

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Jose del Monte actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $702 in San Jose del Monte, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
San Jose del Monte $702

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,068 in San Jose del Monte, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Jose del Monte $1,068

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,433 in San Jose del Monte, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
San Jose del Monte $1,433

Playa del Carmen costs about 71% more than San Jose del Monte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Jose del Monte are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, San Jose del Monte 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.87 ₱245

175.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$16.17 ₱1,025

170.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$2.67 ₱169

341.57%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.75 ₱111

116.57%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.59 ₱37.32

120.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.31 ₱19.62

167.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$0.94 ₱59.7

235.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.57 ₱99.8

214.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.60 ₱102

-11.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.10 ₱69.5

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.00 ₱63.2

47.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.97 ₱125

26.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$4.82 ₱306

51.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.37 ₱214

135.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.78 ₱429

89.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.27 ₱144

27.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.51 ₱95.4

-8.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.34 ₱148

6.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.01 ₱63.9

100.99%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.67 ₱106

20.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.76 ₱112

7.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.95 ₱60.0

20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.48 ₱30.16

158.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.81 ₱178

51.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$8.81 ₱558

11.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.90 ₱56.7

76.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.99 ₱126

38.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.22 ₱13.88

131.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$12.59 ₱798

117.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.73 ₱46.14

552.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.20 ₱12.65

1525.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.85 ₱117

191.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.22 ₱77.5

25.41%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.1K ₱1.3M

0.44%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$19.3K ₱1.2M

20.83%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$121 ₱7,641

-30.77%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$15.62 ₱990

48.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$22.98 ₱1,456

20.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$31.05 ₱1,968

81.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$5.36 ₱339

425.93%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.20 ₱329

-3.85%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$132 ₱8,382

56.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$8,798 ₱557.4K

-40.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$28.43 ₱1,801

52.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$18.91 ₱1,198

124.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$70.5 ₱4,467

3.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$55.3 ₱3,501

59.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$250 ₱15.8K

298.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$167 ₱10.6K

128.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$493 ₱31.2K

239.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$348 ₱22.0K

210.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,582 ₱163.6K

51.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,118 ₱70.8K

448.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.75

69.63%

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 Jose del Monte: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

San Jose del Monte

$167 23.9% 56.2% $215

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

San Jose del Monte

$169 24.1% 34.2% $88

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

San Jose del Monte

$71 10.2% 64.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

San Jose del Monte

$159 22.7% 18.6% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

San Jose del Monte

$78 11.1% 30% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

San Jose del Monte

$41 5.9% 37.6% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Jose del Monte

$15 2.2% 69.9% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $250 in San Jose del Monte. 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 $16 in San Jose del Monte. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $169 – making San Jose del Monte the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 San Jose del Monte

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

08:22 8:22 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

651,813

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 63.36 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.33 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Jose del Monte 15,020 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Jose del Monte

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 Jose del Monte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 71%, 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 $1,053 in San Jose del Monte. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Jose del Monte, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $250 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $702 in San Jose del Monte. That makes San Jose del Monte about 42% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 54% less in San Jose del Monte. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in San Jose del Monte, where all-in costs run around $702, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In San Jose del Monte 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 Jose del Monte – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, San Jose del Monte is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 42% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.