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 38.6% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 33.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 24.9% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 22.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$212

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$755

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$192

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$62.2

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

$1.45 MX$26.01

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$16.16

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$54.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$79.1

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.51

$2.20 AWG 3.93

-37.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.51

$2.65 AWG 4.74

-29.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.63

$4.46 AWG 7.98

-65.47%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.81

$4.71 AWG 8.43

-46.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$154

$7.92 AWG 14.17

8.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$155

$7.55 AWG 13.52

14.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$197

$6.54 AWG 11.71

68.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$49.22

$4.47 AWG 7.99

-38.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.56

$4.54 AWG 8.12

-68.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.52

$8.22 AWG 14.72

-77.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.80

$6.66 AWG 11.92

-67.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.70

$6.87 AWG 12.29

-72.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$40.21

$1.96 AWG 3.51

14.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$19.11

$2.98 AWG 5.33

-64.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.22

$4.31 AWG 7.72

-75.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$74.4

$10.15 AWG 18.17

-59.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$185

$19.50 AWG 34.91

-46.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$30.06

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-32.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$44.46

$3.14 AWG 5.61

-21.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.93

$1.97 AWG 3.53

-72.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$475

$155 AWG 278

-82.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$57.6

$19.67 AWG 35.21

-83.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$44.42

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$55.7

$19.69 AWG 35.24

-84.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.48

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

$30.7K MX$548.8K

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

$24.0K MX$430.3K

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

$82.5 MX$1,476

$141 AWG 252

-41.30%

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

$22.29 MX$399

$73.1 AWG 131

-69.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$537

$205 AWG 367

-85.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$921

$69.9 AWG 125

-26.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$327

$46.61 AWG 83.4

-60.76%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$89.2

$8.17 AWG 14.62

-39.05%

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

$200 MX$3,580

$136 AWG 244

46.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$94.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$639

$77.9 AWG 139

-54.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$708

$113 AWG 202

-64.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,442

$140 AWG 251

-42.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,581

$138 AWG 247

-35.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.4K

$1,259 AWG 2,254

-23.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,632

$555 AWG 994

-13.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.6K

$1,548 AWG 2,771

3.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$21.2K

$1,373 AWG 2,458

-13.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$72.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$116.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.5K

$3,653 AWG 6,539

-79.30%

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: March 3, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: March 1, 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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