Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,463

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
San Juan de Pasto $1,463

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,144 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Juan de Pasto $2,144

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,825 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
San Juan de Pasto $2,825

Playa del Carmen is about 18% cheaper than San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while San Juan de Pasto is 8% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$8.83 COP 28.6K

20.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$47.05 COP 152.4K

-6.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.50 COP 34.0K

12.29%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.4

$2.89 COP 9,377

31.14%

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

$1.30 MX$24.12

$1.42 COP 4,610

-8.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.50

$1.21 COP 3,911

-31.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.5

$3.44 COP 11.1K

-8.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.64 COP 11.8K

35.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.61 COP 5,218

-12.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.83

$2.39 COP 7,737

-7.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.39

$2.06 COP 6,675

-28.64%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.43

$3.46 COP 11.2K

-27.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.16 COP 23.2K

1.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$10.11 COP 32.8K

-21.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$11.84 COP 38.4K

8.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.75 COP 12.1K

-22.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.73

$1.37 COP 4,438

0.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.32

$1.71 COP 5,551

45.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.86 COP 6,029

9.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.79 COP 5,812

12.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.40

$1.72 COP 5,584

10.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.28

$1.03 COP 3,331

10.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.04

$1.32 COP 4,267

-6.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.4

$4.72 COP 15.3K

-9.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$12.60 COP 40.8K

-22.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.49

$1.27 COP 4,126

25.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.61 COP 8,448

5.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.11 COP 3,597

-54.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

$66.9 COP 216.7K

-59.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.63 COP 5,284

192.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.4

$2.09 COP 6,773

55.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.85 COP 25.4K

-31.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.42

$1.29 COP 4,172

18.60%

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

$21.2K MX$394.5K

$39.0K COP 126.5M

-45.67%

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

$23.3K MX$432.6K

$33.3K COP 107.9M

-30.15%

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

$83.5 MX$1,553

$129 COP 416.9K

-35.13%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$13.90 COP 45.0K

66.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$30.01 COP 97.2K

-8.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$33.00 COP 106.9K

71.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$524

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.0

$7.84 COP 25.4K

-36.22%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$581 COP 1.9M

-64.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$13.9K COP 44.9M

-62.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$808

$93.9 COP 304.2K

-53.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$791

$49.34 COP 159.8K

-13.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,353

$122 COP 395.6K

-40.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,644

$94.9 COP 307.4K

-6.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$780 COP 2.5M

27.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,112

$546 COP 1.8M

-29.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$1,459 COP 4.7M

14.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$796 COP 2.6M

35.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,112 COP 6.8M

85.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.1K

$1,582 COP 5.1M

287.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-4.58%

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 Juan de Pasto: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

San Juan de Pasto

$546 37.3% 42.7% $163

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

San Juan de Pasto

$278 19% 8.1% $21

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$172 11.8% 14.2% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

San Juan de Pasto

$173 11.8% 28.6% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

San Juan de Pasto

$162 11.1% 45.8% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

San Juan de Pasto

$49 3.3% 26.7% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Juan de Pasto

$83 5.7% 65.4% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $780 in San Juan de Pasto. 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 $47 in San Juan de Pasto. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $278 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

19:47 7:47 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

392,930

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.09 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 18.6 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 3,239 COP (10,000 COP = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 3,620 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Juan de Pasto 2,410 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Juan de Pasto is pricier by about 22%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,194 in San Juan de Pasto. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Juan de Pasto, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $780 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto. That makes Playa del Carmen about 18% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 59% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,463 in San Juan de Pasto. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.