Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Juan del Sur

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan del Sur: $1,054 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in San Juan del Sur
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San Juan del Sur Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

San Juan del Sur

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$1,054

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,054 in San Juan del Sur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
San Juan del Sur $1,054

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,667 in San Juan del Sur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Juan del Sur $1,667

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,280 in San Juan del Sur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
San Juan del Sur $2,280

Playa del Carmen costs about 14% more than San Juan del Sur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Juan del Sur are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, San Juan del Sur 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.27 NIO 156

155.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$33.86 NIO 1,240

28.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.77 NIO 211

104.16%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.65 NIO 96.9

43.77%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.85 NIO 31.03

50.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.67 NIO 24.57

16.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.53 NIO 56.2

107.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.22 NIO 81.2

122.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.19 NIO 43.49

18.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.54 NIO 56.5

44.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.18 NIO 43.12

20.34%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.38 NIO 87.2

5.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.72 NIO 283

-5.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.51 NIO 239

18.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$7.73 NIO 283

64.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$4.06 NIO 149

-31.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$0.62 NIO 22.89

120.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.81 NIO 66.4

40.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.37 NIO 86.9

-10.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$3.23 NIO 118

-39.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.21 NIO 80.9

-14.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.08 NIO 39.69

6.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.05 NIO 38.61

12.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.70 NIO 99.0

59.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.91 NIO 363

0.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.41 NIO 51.6

12.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.26 NIO 82.7

18.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.59 NIO 58.1

212.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.58 NIO 57.9

110.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$6.88 NIO 252

-22.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.29 NIO 47.27

11.63%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$22.5K NIO 824.8K

-8.24%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$26.5K NIO 970.5K

-11.45%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$60.5 NIO 2,216

40.10%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$10.52 NIO 385

122.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$32.21 NIO 1,180

-11.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$30.54 NIO 1,118

86.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$9.02 NIO 331

-43.02%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$235 NIO 8,624

-12.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$6,153 NIO 225.4K

-36.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$60.0 NIO 2,197

-27.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$64.1 NIO 2,348

-35.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$121 NIO 4,419

-38.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$143 NIO 5,244

-37.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$421 NIO 15.4K

132.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$391 NIO 14.3K

-2.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$943 NIO 34.5K

81.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$773 NIO 28.3K

39.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$355 NIO 13.0K

106.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.92

-3.94%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for San Juan del Sur: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

San Juan del Sur

$391 37.1% 2.7% $10

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

San Juan del Sur

$226 21.4% 11.3% $29

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

San Juan del Sur

$101 9.6% 49.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

San Juan del Sur

$103 9.8% 24.5% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

San Juan del Sur

$175 16.6% 56.3% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

San Juan del Sur

$49 4.6% 27.8% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Juan del Sur

$9.5 * 0.9% 81.2% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $421 in San Juan del Sur. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $34 in San Juan del Sur. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $226 – making San Juan del Sur the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇮 San Juan del Sur

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

14,741

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.87 NIO (100 NIO = 2.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Juan del Sur 1,050 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Juan del Sur

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 del Sur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 14%, 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 $1,581 in San Juan del Sur. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Juan del Sur, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $421 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,054 in San Juan del Sur. That makes San Juan del Sur about 12% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $235 in San Juan del Sur. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,054 in San Juan del Sur, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. San Juan del Sur costs $1,054 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with San Juan del Sur. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.