Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Clara

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $959 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$959

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Santa Clara

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $959 in Santa Clara, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Santa Clara $959

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,439 in Santa Clara, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Santa Clara $1,439

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,920 in Santa Clara, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Santa Clara $1,920

Playa del Carmen costs about 26% more than Santa Clara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Santa Clara are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Santa Clara 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.69 CUP 88.5

195.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$27.05 CUP 649

60.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.03 CUP 121

134.19%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$1.04 CUP 24.97

266.35%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.58 CUP 37.94

-18.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.92 CUP 22.19

-15.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.22 CUP 29.18

159.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.04 CUP 49.02

141.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$2.76 CUP 66.3

-48.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.45 CUP 34.90

53.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.72 CUP 41.36

-17.44%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.43 CUP 82.3

-26.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$4.52 CUP 109

60.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$4.75 CUP 114

62.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$8.31 CUP 199

52.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$5.97 CUP 143

-53.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.06 CUP 25.49

29.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$4.05 CUP 97.1

-37.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$2.35 CUP 56.3

-9.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.93 CUP 70.3

-33.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$2.73 CUP 65.5

-30.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.75 CUP 17.96

53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.57 CUP 13.77

107.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$1.63 CUP 39.21

163.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$5.19 CUP 125

91.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.72 CUP 41.22

-8.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.07 CUP 49.79

28.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.62 CUP 62.8

89.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.34 CUP 8.16

879.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$20.30 CUP 487

-73.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.27 CUP 30.41

13.39%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$60.8K CUP 1.5M

-66.03%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$59.0K CUP 1.4M

-60.23%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$48.16 CUP 1,156

76.06%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$38.98 CUP 935

-39.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$88.7 CUP 2,130

-67.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$0.81 CUP 19.44

534.57%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$155 CUP 3,713

33.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$12.6K CUP 302.4K

-68.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$50.7 CUP 1,217

-14.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$41.49 CUP 996

-0.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$79.6 CUP 1,911

-6.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$67.4 CUP 1,616

32.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$343 CUP 8,241

185.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$356 CUP 8,536

7.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$758 CUP 18.2K

125.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$605 CUP 14.5K

77.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$279 CUP 6,702

1312.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$291 CUP 6,994

2013.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.1

25.82%

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 Santa Clara: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Santa Clara

$356 37.1% 6.6% $25

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Santa Clara

$236 24.7% 7.2% $18

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Santa Clara

$77 8.1% 61.8% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Santa Clara

$176 18.3% 28.5% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Santa Clara

$108 11.2% 3.7% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Santa Clara

$1.6 * 0.2% 97.6% $66

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Santa Clara

$4.3 * 0.5% 91.5% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $343 in Santa Clara. 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 $27 in Santa Clara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $236 – making Santa Clara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🕒 Local time

13:56 1:56 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

216,056

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.8 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Santa Clara 760 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 26%, 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 $1,438 in Santa Clara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santa Clara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $343 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $959 in Santa Clara. That makes Santa Clara about 20% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $155 in Santa Clara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $959 in Santa Clara. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Santa Clara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.