Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San José Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San José

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 16.5% cheaper than San José without rent, and 26.1% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 10% cheaper than San José without rent, and 39.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$211

$16.42 UYU 640

-27.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$750

$54.9 UYU 2,142

-23.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$191

$10.81 UYU 422

-0.56%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$61.8

$4.26 UYU 166

-18.54%

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

$1.45 MX$25.85

$2.22 UYU 86.6

-34.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$16.06

$1.71 UYU 66.9

-47.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$54.3

$4.27 UYU 167

-28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$78.6

$3.70 UYU 144

19.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.36

$1.01 UYU 39.47

35.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.31

$1.97 UYU 76.9

-5.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.46

$1.49 UYU 57.9

3.36%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.53

$2.56 UYU 99.7

-2.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$153

$12.33 UYU 481

-30.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$154

$7.55 UYU 294

14.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$196

$10.91 UYU 425

1.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$48.91

$1.25 UYU 48.67

120.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.41

$1.46 UYU 56.8

-2.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.32

$1.24 UYU 48.29

50.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.56

$1.43 UYU 55.8

51.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.50

$1.02 UYU 39.66

84.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$39.96

$1.26 UYU 48.98

78.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.99

$1.35 UYU 52.7

-20.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.10

$1.66 UYU 64.8

-35.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$73.9

$5.12 UYU 200

-18.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$184

$10.43 UYU 407

-0.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$29.87

$2.37 UYU 92.6

-29.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$44.19

$3.01 UYU 117

-17.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.87

$1.25 UYU 48.61

-56.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$472

$43.66 UYU 1,703

-39.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$57.2

$1.51 UYU 58.9

113.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$44.15

$1.51 UYU 59.0

64.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$55.3

$10.91 UYU 426

-71.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.34

$1.83 UYU 71.3

-31.15%

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

$30.7K MX$545.4K

$34.8K UYU 1.4M

-11.80%

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

$24.0K MX$427.6K

$36.9K UYU 1.4M

-34.79%

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

$82.5 MX$1,467

$174 UYU 6,805

-52.73%

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

$22.29 MX$396

$16.56 UYU 646

34.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$534

$49.55 UYU 1,932

-39.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$915

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$325

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$88.7

$10.59 UYU 413

-52.97%

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

$200 MX$3,558

$480 UYU 18.7K

-58.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$94.4K

$8,930 UYU 348.3K

-40.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$635

$93.3 UYU 3,640

-61.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$704

$47.53 UYU 1,854

-16.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,433

$115 UYU 4,490

-30.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,571

$124 UYU 4,829

-28.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,579

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$21.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$72.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$116.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

5.68

101.06%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

Last update for San José: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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