Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Luis Rio Colorado

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in San Luis Rio Colorado: $1,204 and $1,229 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in San Luis Rio Colorado
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San Luis Rio Colorado Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

San Luis Rio Colorado

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,229

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in San Luis Rio Colorado

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
San Luis Rio Colorado $1,229

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,860 in San Luis Rio Colorado, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Luis Rio Colorado $1,860

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,491 in San Luis Rio Colorado, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
San Luis Rio Colorado $2,491

Playa del Carmen is about 2% cheaper than San Luis Rio Colorado, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Luis Rio Colorado are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, San Luis Rio Colorado 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$11.95 MX$222

-8.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$807

$33.23 MX$619

30.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$9.45 MX$176

24.66%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.9

$4.19 MX$78.1

-9.07%

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

$1.28 MX$23.87

$1.42 MX$26.42

-9.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.57

$1.23 MX$22.91

-36.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.16 MX$58.9

0.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$6.43 MX$120

-23.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.18

$1.72 MX$32.01

-18.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.27

$2.93 MX$54.6

-24.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.38

$1.76 MX$32.75

-19.32%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.96

$3.10 MX$57.6

-18.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.46 MX$157

-14.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.24 MX$135

6.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$11.50 MX$214

10.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$2.87 MX$53.5

-3.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.47

$1.59 MX$29.67

-13.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.49

$1.96 MX$36.52

30.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.52

$1.56 MX$29.09

35.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.08

$1.49 MX$27.65

30.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.11

$1.82 MX$33.79

3.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.34

$1.45 MX$27.00

-20.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.95

$1.04 MX$19.40

13.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$4.39 MX$81.7

-2.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.98 MX$148

24.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.48

$2.21 MX$41.14

-28.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.72

$4.02 MX$74.9

-33.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.30

$0.69 MX$12.77

-20.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$495

$32.51 MX$605

-18.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.5

$2.75 MX$51.1

80.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.0

$2.20 MX$41.03

51.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.7

$10.75 MX$200

-50.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.88

$1.50 MX$27.93

-4.00%

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

$20.7K MX$384.7K

$24.2K MX$451.1K

-14.72%

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

$23.5K MX$436.8K

$23.6K MX$439.6K

-0.64%

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

$84.8 MX$1,578

$46.01 MX$857

84.29%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$32.95 MX$613

-28.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$533

$29.62 MX$551

-3.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,062

$32.11 MX$598

77.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$538

$19.37 MX$361

49.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$6.45 MX$120

-20.31%

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

$207 MX$3,845

$206 MX$3,826

0.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.1K

$4,436 MX$82.6K

-11.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$807

$52.5 MX$977

-17.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$771

$45.76 MX$852

-9.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,381

$103 MX$1,914

-27.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,661

$69.7 MX$1,298

28.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$572 MX$10.6K

71.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,089

$428 MX$7,965

-11.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$893 MX$16.6K

91.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$668 MX$12.4K

60.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.4K

$2,110 MX$39.3K

86.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.6K

$1,092 MX$20.3K

464.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.07

-5.14%

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 Luis Rio Colorado: 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 Luis Rio Colorado

$428 34.8% 12.4% $47

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

San Luis Rio Colorado

$263 21.4% 3.2% $8.2

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

San Luis Rio Colorado

$213 17.4% 5.5% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

San Luis Rio Colorado

$109 8.8% 20.7% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

San Luis Rio Colorado

$122 9.9% 9.1% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

San Luis Rio Colorado

$45 3.7% 33.2% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Luis Rio Colorado

$49 4% 2.8% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $572 in San Luis Rio Colorado. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $33 in San Luis Rio Colorado. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $263 in San Luis Rio Colorado – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 San Luis Rio Colorado

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

04:08 4:08 AM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

176,685

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.83 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Luis Rio Colorado 3,040 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Luis Rio Colorado

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 Luis Rio Colorado: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Luis Rio Colorado is pricier by about 2%, 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 $1,843 in San Luis Rio Colorado. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Luis Rio Colorado, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $572 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado. That’s a gap of about 2%.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.