Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Barbara Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Barbara

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 23.7% cheaper than Santa Barbara without rent, and 17.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 14.8% cheaper than Santa Barbara without rent, and 3.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 MX$212

$10.9 ₡5,325

6.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42 MX$769

$58.9 ₡28.8K

-28.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.5 MX$192

$10.2 ₡4,983

2.94%

Cappuccino

$3.43 MX$62.8

$3.87 ₡1,892

-11.37%

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

$1.49 MX$27.34

$2.05 ₡1,003

-27.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.27

$1.6 ₡783

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$56.3

$3.04 ₡1,483

1.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 MX$79.9

$4.61 ₡2,254

-5.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$25.44

$2.06 ₡1,007

-32.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$33.81

$2.75 ₡1,342

-32.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.88

$2.22 ₡1,084

-28.83%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46

$2.94 ₡1,439

-14.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.26 MX$151

$8.84 ₡4,317

-6.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.7 MX$159

$8.95 ₡4,375

-2.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.73 MX$196

$13.64 ₡6,662

-21.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$47.74

$4.52 ₡2,209

-42.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.28

$1.32 ₡647

12.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.72

$2.34 ₡1,144

-16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 MX$38.26

$3.55 ₡1,734

-41.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.05

$2.94 ₡1,438

-38.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.62

$2.89 ₡1,413

-25.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 MX$18.85

$0.67 ₡329

53.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.7

$2.84 ₡1,387

-61.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 MX$75.9

$5.25 ₡2,567

-21.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.88 MX$163

$12.06 ₡5,890

-26.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 MX$30.64

$2.53 ₡1,237

-33.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 MX$46.31

$2.84 ₡1,387

-10.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.27

$1.02 ₡500

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.68 MX$488

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$59.7

$1.8 ₡881

81.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.51 MX$45.94

$0.98 ₡476

156.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 MX$57.2

$7.71 ₡3,769

-59.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.96

$1.42 ₡692

-7.75%

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

$30.9K MX$565K

$38.5K ₡18.8M

-19.90%

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

$23.9K MX$436.9K

$32.5K ₡15.9M

-26.58%

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

$83 MX$1,520

$67.3 ₡32.9K

23.43%

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

$22.59 MX$414

$25.99 ₡12.7K

-13.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.51 MX$540

$60.4 ₡29.5K

-51.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 MX$944

$57.4 ₡28K

-10.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 MX$337

$24.14 ₡11.8K

-23.70%

Cinema Ticket

$4.9 MX$89.7

$9.07 ₡4,432

-45.98%

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

$200 MX$3,668

$558 ₡272.4K

-64.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,179 MX$94.8K

$12.7K ₡6.2M

-59.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.41 MX$667

$63.5 ₡31K

-42.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.91 MX$731

$52.4 ₡25.6K

-23.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MX$1,462

$128 ₡62.4K

-37.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 MX$1,605

$108 ₡52.7K

-18.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MX$18K

$772 ₡377.4K

27.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,612

$594 ₡290.1K

-20.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 MX$29.5K

$1,496 ₡730.8K

7.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 MX$21.8K

$953 ₡465.7K

24.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,839 MX$70.3K

$1,698 ₡829.7K

126.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,205 MX$113.6K

$1,702 ₡831.7K

264.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$724 MX$13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

26.89%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 30, 2025

Last update for Santa Barbara: December 1, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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