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 20.8% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 19% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 30.9% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 4.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 MX$212

$10.99 ₡5,371

5.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42 MX$769

$59.5 ₡29.1K

-29.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.5 MX$192

$9.8 ₡4,790

7.14%

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

$1.98 ₡966

-24.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.27

$1.6 ₡782

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$56.3

$3.02 ₡1,475

1.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 MX$79.9

$4.61 ₡2,255

-5.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$25.44

$1.99 ₡974

-30.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$33.81

$2.79 ₡1,362

-33.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.88

$2.15 ₡1,053

-26.51%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46

$3.05 ₡1,488

-17.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.26 MX$151

$10.18 ₡4,972

-18.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.7 MX$159

$9.36 ₡4,575

-7.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.73 MX$196

$13.44 ₡6,564

-20.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$47.74

$4.49 ₡2,193

-41.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.28

$1.01 ₡494

47.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.72

$4.38 ₡2,139

-55.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 MX$38.26

$3.57 ₡1,744

-41.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.05

$3.41 ₡1,664

-46.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.62

$3.09 ₡1,508

-30.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 MX$18.85

$0.95 ₡463

8.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.7

$2.94 ₡1,435

-63.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 MX$75.9

$5.42 ₡2,647

-23.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.88 MX$163

$17.94 ₡8,766

-50.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 MX$30.64

$2.41 ₡1,180

-30.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 MX$46.31

$2.88 ₡1,409

-12.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.27

$1.03 ₡505

-50.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.68 MX$488

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$59.7

$1.85 ₡905

76.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.51 MX$45.94

$1.83 ₡895

37.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 MX$57.2

$7.98 ₡3,898

-60.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.96

$1.47 ₡719

-10.88%

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

$30.9K MX$565K

$37.6K ₡18.4M

-18.00%

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

$23.9K MX$436.9K

$32.4K ₡15.8M

-26.37%

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

$83 MX$1,520

$94.5 ₡46.2K

-12.12%

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

$22.59 MX$414

$25.6 ₡12.5K

-11.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.51 MX$540

$53.1 ₡25.9K

-44.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 MX$944

$57 ₡27.8K

-9.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 MX$337

$23.49 ₡11.5K

-21.58%

Cinema Ticket

$4.9 MX$89.7

$5.92 ₡2,890

-17.23%

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

$200 MX$3,668

$575 ₡280.9K

-65.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,179 MX$94.8K

$12.6K ₡6.2M

-59.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.41 MX$667

$61.8 ₡30.2K

-41.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.91 MX$731

$50.8 ₡24.8K

-21.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MX$1,462

$126 ₡61.6K

-36.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 MX$1,605

$105 ₡51.5K

-16.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MX$18K

$750 ₡366.2K

31.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,612

$587 ₡286.8K

-19.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 MX$29.5K

$1,520 ₡742.5K

5.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 MX$21.8K

$966 ₡471.8K

23.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,839 MX$70.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,205 MX$113.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$724 MX$13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

10.17

12.29%

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 Cruz: December 1, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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