Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Lorenzo, Paraguay

For one person, living is cheaper in San Lorenzo: $577 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in San Lorenzo
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San Lorenzo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

San Lorenzo

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$577

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $577 in San Lorenzo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
San Lorenzo $577

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $985 in San Lorenzo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Lorenzo $985

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,392 in San Lorenzo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
San Lorenzo $1,392

Playa del Carmen costs about 109% more than San Lorenzo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Lorenzo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, San Lorenzo 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$7.15 ₲41.5K

52.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$43.29 ₲251.2K

0.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.01 ₲40.7K

68.05%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.36 ₲19.5K

13.39%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.05 ₲6,073

21.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.56 ₲3,227

39.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.09 ₲12.1K

51.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$1.80 ₲10.4K

173.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.20 ₲6,955

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.01 ₲5,854

119.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.39 ₲8,039

2.16%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.40 ₲14.0K

5.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$5.22 ₲30.3K

39.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.30 ₲13.3K

234.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$6.62 ₲38.4K

91.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.19 ₲12.7K

26.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.24 ₲7,177

10.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.07 ₲6,189

138.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.18 ₲6,852

79.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.04 ₲6,053

86.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.97 ₲5,624

94.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.50 ₲2,910

130.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.51 ₲2,947

131.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.28 ₲13.2K

88.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$3.73 ₲21.7K

166.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.59 ₲3,409

167.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$0.85 ₲4,938

214.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$35.05 ₲203.4K

-24.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.48 ₲8,581

235.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.55 ₲8,972

114.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$4.13 ₲23.9K

29.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.28 ₲7,419

12.50%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$17.0K ₲98.9M

21.22%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$29.7K ₲172.4M

-21.03%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$50.5 ₲292.8K

68.03%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$17.36 ₲100.7K

34.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$22.10 ₲128.3K

29.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$21.23 ₲123.2K

168.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$11.94 ₲69.3K

142.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.37 ₲25.3K

17.62%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$186 ₲1.1M

10.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,795 ₲33.6M

-32.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$65.4 ₲379.3K

-33.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$56.9 ₲329.9K

-27.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$109 ₲634.2K

-32.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$70.7 ₲410.6K

26.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.5

9.05%

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 Lorenzo: 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 Lorenzo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

San Lorenzo

$138 23.9% 45.8% $117

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

San Lorenzo

$139 24.1% 31.3% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

San Lorenzo

$90 15.6% 34.3% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

San Lorenzo

$136 23.6% 21.7% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

San Lorenzo

$30 5.2% 55.5% $37

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Lorenzo

$44 * 7.7% 12.3% $6.2

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $43 in San Lorenzo. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $138 in San Lorenzo – so San Lorenzo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇾 San Lorenzo

🕒 Local time

15:51 3:51 PM

17:51 5:51 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

489,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.72 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.55 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PYG, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5,803 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.72 USD). 1 EUR = 6,460 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.55 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Lorenzo 6,030 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Lorenzo

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 Lorenzo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 109%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $866 in San Lorenzo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $577 in San Lorenzo. That makes San Lorenzo about 52% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $186 in San Lorenzo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in San Lorenzo, where all-in costs run around $577, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In San Lorenzo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $577 in San Lorenzo to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.