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

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 37.9% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 31.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 33.5% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 19.2% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$2.10 AWG 3.76

-33.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$2.63 AWG 4.72

-27.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$4.37 AWG 7.82

-63.39%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$4.71 AWG 8.42

-44.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$7.86 AWG 14.07

6.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$7.50 AWG 13.43

15.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$6.59 AWG 11.80

65.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$4.48 AWG 8.03

-41.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$4.50 AWG 8.06

-68.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$8.12 AWG 14.53

-75.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$6.59 AWG 11.79

-67.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$6.84 AWG 12.25

-72.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$1.90 AWG 3.40

16.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$3.10 AWG 5.55

-67.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$4.47 AWG 8.00

-76.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$10.37 AWG 18.56

-60.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$19.19 AWG 34.35

-46.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-32.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$3.04 AWG 5.43

-13.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

$1.96 AWG 3.52

-73.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

$157 AWG 282

-83.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$19.33 AWG 34.60

-83.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$19.38 AWG 34.69

-83.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$138 AWG 247

-39.53%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$71.8 AWG 129

-68.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$202 AWG 361

-85.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

$68.5 AWG 123

-24.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

$47.27 AWG 84.6

-61.29%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$8.43 AWG 15.08

-39.26%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$137 AWG 245

46.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$77.8 AWG 139

-54.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$111 AWG 199

-63.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$140 AWG 251

-43.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$136 AWG 244

-34.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

$1,274 AWG 2,280

-25.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

$552 AWG 987

-12.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

$1,543 AWG 2,762

3.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

$1,375 AWG 2,461

-11.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

$3,678 AWG 6,584

-80.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: January 11, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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