Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and San Pedro de Macoris

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Macoris: $615 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro de Macoris
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San Pedro de Macoris Living Index

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San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

San Pedro de Macoris

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$615

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in San Pedro de Macoris

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $615 in San Pedro de Macoris, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
San Pedro de Macoris $615

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $992 in San Pedro de Macoris, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
San Pedro de Macoris $992

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,369 in San Pedro de Macoris, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
San Pedro de Macoris $1,369

Playa del Carmen costs about 96% more than San Pedro de Macoris, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$5.81 DOP 349

83.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$40.28 DOP 2,419

8.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.81 DOP 409

73.13%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.75 DOP 105

116.57%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.66 DOP 39.59

96.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.40 DOP 24.04

107.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.46 DOP 148

28.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.92 DOP 235

25.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.20 DOP 72.1

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.70 DOP 102

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.53 DOP 92.2

-3.92%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.50 DOP 90.2

66.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$6.04 DOP 363

20.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.50 DOP 210

127.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$4.74 DOP 285

171.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.74 DOP 224

-22.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.38 DOP 83.0

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$3.31 DOP 199

-24.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.21 DOP 133

-8.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.43 DOP 206

-41.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.82 DOP 170

-32.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.89 DOP 53.4

28.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.59 DOP 95.6

-22.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.69 DOP 282

-8.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$16.43 DOP 987

-40.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.92 DOP 175

-45.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.34 DOP 201

-17.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$2.51 DOP 151

89.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$3.23 DOP 194

0.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.23 DOP 74.1

24.39%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$14.7K DOP 882.6K

44.36%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$25.2K DOP 1.5M

-7.75%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$92.7 DOP 5,568

-9.94%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$26.69 DOP 1,603

-13.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$30.56 DOP 1,835

-9.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.02 DOP 302

-0.40%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$145 DOP 8,699

42.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$5,444 DOP 327.0K

-3.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$26.38 DOP 1,584

64.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$44.56 DOP 2,676

-4.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$61.7 DOP 3,704

17.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$64.6 DOP 3,878

36.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$406 DOP 24.4K

312.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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 Pedro de Macoris: 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 Pedro de Macoris

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

San Pedro de Macoris

$235 38.2% 8.7% $22

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

San Pedro de Macoris

$112 18.3% 44% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

San Pedro de Macoris

$150 24.4% 11.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

San Pedro de Macoris

$89 14.4% 20.2% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

San Pedro de Macoris

$10 * 1.6% 84.9% $56

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

San Pedro de Macoris

$19 * 3% 63% $32

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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $40 in San Pedro de Macoris. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $235 – making San Pedro de Macoris the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇴 San Pedro de Macoris

🕒 Local time

21:42 9:42 PM

22:42 10:42 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

217,141

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 DOP = 1.67 USD

100 DOP = 1.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 60.06 DOP (100 DOP = 1.67 USD). 1 EUR = 67.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.49 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen San Pedro de Macoris 1,880 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
San Pedro de Macoris

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 Pedro de Macoris: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 96%, 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 $922 in San Pedro de Macoris. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $615 in San Pedro de Macoris. That makes San Pedro de Macoris about 49% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $145 in San Pedro de Macoris. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in San Pedro de Macoris, where all-in costs run around $615, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In San Pedro de Macoris 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 $615 in San Pedro de Macoris to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.