Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Pablo

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pablo: $606 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in San Pablo
Learn more

San Pablo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

San Pablo

🇵🇭 Philippines

$606

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $606 in San Pablo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
San Pablo $606

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $914 in San Pablo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Pablo $914

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,222 in San Pablo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
San Pablo $1,222

Playa del Carmen costs about 98% more than San Pablo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and San Pablo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, San Pablo 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$3.14 ₱199

239.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$23.81 ₱1,512

83.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$2.84 ₱180

315.14%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.70 ₱108

122.94%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.38 ₱23.89

242.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.14 ₱8.68

492.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$1.09 ₱69.2

188.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$1.95 ₱124

152.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.76 ₱112

-19.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$0.80 ₱50.8

175.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$0.91 ₱58.0

61.54%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$1.90 ₱121

31.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$4.80 ₱305

51.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$3.20 ₱203

148.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$7.38 ₱469

74.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.47 ₱157

17.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.38 ₱87.9

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.62 ₱103

53.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$0.86 ₱54.5

136.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.40 ₱89.2

44.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.32 ₱83.6

43.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.61 ₱38.79

86.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.33 ₱20.87

275.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$2.68 ₱170

59.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$6.21 ₱394

57.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.21 ₱76.8

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.47 ₱157

11.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.25 ₱15.98

104.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.04 ₱66.1

357.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.20 ₱12.67

1525.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$1.84 ₱117

192.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.26 ₱79.9

21.43%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$21.5K ₱1.4M

-1.53%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

22.16%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$95.1 ₱6,036

-12.19%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$11.78 ₱748

96.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$30.85 ₱1,958

-10.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$4.82 ₱306

3.73%

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

$207 MX$3,897

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$13.6K ₱864.7K

-61.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$49.04 ₱3,113

-11.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$36.87 ₱2,341

15.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$70.9 ₱4,501

2.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$79.2 ₱5,029

11.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$143 ₱9,082

595.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$126 ₱8,018

202.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$207 ₱13.1K

709.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$192 ₱12.2K

463.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$958 ₱60.8K

308.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$780 ₱49.5K

687.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$283 ₱18.0K

194.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

63.57%

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 Pablo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

San Pablo

$126 20.9% 67% $256

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

San Pablo

$157 26% 38.8% $100

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

San Pablo

$65 10.8% 67.3% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

San Pablo

$138 22.7% 2.5% $3.4

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

San Pablo

$106 17.5% 4.5% $5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

San Pablo

$9.6 * 1.6% 85.5% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Pablo

$3.1 * 0.5% 94% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $143 in San Pablo. 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 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $24 in San Pablo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $157 – making San Pablo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 San Pablo

🕒 Local time

04:10 4:10 AM

17:10 5:10 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

266,068

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.49 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.17 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Pablo 15,060 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Pablo

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 Pablo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 98%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $909 in San Pablo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Pablo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $143 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 63% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $24 in San Pablo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in San Pablo, where all-in costs run around $606, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In San Pablo 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 $606 in San Pablo to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with San Pablo. 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.