Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Juan, Philippines

Name: San Juan
Address: San Juan, PH

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $727 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$727

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $727 in San Juan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
San Juan $727

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,099 in San Juan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Juan $1,099

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,471 in San Juan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
San Juan $1,471

Playa del Carmen costs about 66% more than San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Juan are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, San Juan 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.00 ₱255

173.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$16.19 ₱1,031

167.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$2.80 ₱178

320.71%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.61 ₱166

45.98%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.61 ₱38.76

109.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.33 ₱21.30

136.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.01 ₱64.2

213.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.54 ₱98.2

220.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.67 ₱106

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.13 ₱72.3

96.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.91 ₱58.1

56.04%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.77 ₱113

42.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$4.98 ₱317

45.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$3.31 ₱211

132.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$6.98 ₱445

81.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.20 ₱140

26.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.40 ₱88.9

-2.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.27 ₱145

12.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.00 ₱63.9

112.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.73 ₱110

12.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.69 ₱108

11.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.60 ₱38.16

91.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.89 ₱56.4

32.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.70 ₱172

59.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.51 ₱479

32.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.93 ₱59.5

69.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.74 ₱111

53.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.25 ₱15.91

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$11.48 ₱731

131.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.75 ₱47.54

562.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.21 ₱13.36

1485.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.87 ₱119

186.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.17 ₱74.5

23.08%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

-1.67%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$19.2K ₱1.2M

22.52%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$136 ₱8,678

-37.77%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$14.17 ₱902

65.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$23.95 ₱1,525

19.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$27.03 ₱1,722

111.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$5.16 ₱329

460.27%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.01 ₱319

2.59%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$70.3 ₱4,480

193.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$2,442 ₱155.5K

60.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$28.72 ₱1,829

50.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$19.22 ₱1,224

115.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$71.0 ₱4,520

4.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$55.3 ₱3,521

61.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$269 ₱17.1K

264.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$170 ₱10.8K

124.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$493 ₱31.4K

246.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$357 ₱22.7K

201.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,304 ₱146.8K

71.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,186 ₱75.5K

419.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$235 ₱15.0K

212.20%

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: October 25, 2026

Last update for San Juan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

San Juan

$170 23.4% 55.4% $211

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

San Juan

$169 23.3% 33.5% $85

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

San Juan

$84 11.5% 58.7% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

San Juan

$174 24% 27.4% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

San Juan

$78 10.8% 29.8% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

San Juan

$37 5.1% 45% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Juan

$14 2% 71.7% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $269 in San Juan. 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 3.1 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 $16 in San Juan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $169 – making San Juan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 San Juan

🕒 Local time

23:17 11:17 PM

12:17 12:17 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

126,347

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.12 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Juan 15,040 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Juan

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: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 66%, 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 $1,091 in San Juan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Juan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $269 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $727 in San Juan. That makes San Juan about 40% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 57% less in San Juan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in San Juan, where all-in costs run around $727, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In San Juan 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 Juan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with San Juan. 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.