Last update: Nov 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz del Seibo: $638 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Cruz del Seibo, Dominican Republic

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz del Seibo

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$638

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Cruz del Seibo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $638 in Santa Cruz del Seibo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Santa Cruz del Seibo $638

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,028 in Santa Cruz del Seibo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Santa Cruz del Seibo $1,028

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,418 in Santa Cruz del Seibo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Santa Cruz del Seibo $1,418

Playa del Carmen costs about 89% more than Santa Cruz del Seibo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Santa Cruz del Seibo are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Santa Cruz del Seibo 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$8.40 DOP 509

27.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$41.41 DOP 2,510

5.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.85 DOP 294

143.09%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.2

$1.72 DOP 104

120.35%

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

$1.30 MX$24.06

$0.71 DOP 42.90

83.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.46

$0.40 DOP 24.30

107.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$2.40 DOP 146

31.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.5

$3.88 DOP 235

27.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.13

$1.20 DOP 72.9

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.73

$1.72 DOP 104

27.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.32

$1.49 DOP 90.2

-1.34%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.32

$1.48 DOP 89.4

68.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$6.07 DOP 368

20.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.49 DOP 212

127.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$4.55 DOP 276

182.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$3.78 DOP 229

-23.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.66

$1.43 DOP 86.5

-3.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.21

$3.27 DOP 198

-23.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.66

$2.11 DOP 128

-3.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.57

$3.46 DOP 210

-41.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.31

$2.81 DOP 170

-32.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.23

$0.87 DOP 52.9

31.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.98

$1.59 DOP 96.6

-22.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.2

$4.79 DOP 290

-10.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$16.06 DOP 974

-38.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.42

$3.02 DOP 183

-47.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$50.9

$3.43 DOP 208

-19.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.55

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.3

$2.49 DOP 151

91.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$3.21 DOP 195

1.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.35

$1.44 DOP 87.3

6.25%

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

$21.2K MX$393.5K

$14.9K DOP 904.3K

42.23%

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

$23.3K MX$431.6K

$25.2K DOP 1.5M

-7.62%

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

$83.5 MX$1,549

$93.9 DOP 5,695

-11.11%

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

$23.19 MX$430

$26.91 DOP 1,632

-13.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$512

$38.83 DOP 2,354

-28.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,047

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$523

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.8

$4.78 DOP 290

4.60%

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

$207 MX$3,842

$148 DOP 8,956

40.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.0K

$5,396 DOP 327.1K

-3.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$806

$26.47 DOP 1,605

64.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$789

$45.44 DOP 2,755

-6.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,350

$60.4 DOP 3,660

20.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,640

$66.1 DOP 4,008

33.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,094

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$113.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz del Seibo: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Santa Cruz del Seibo

–

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $41 in Santa Cruz del Seibo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $234 – making Santa Cruz del Seibo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇴 Santa Cruz del Seibo

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

17:13 5:13 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

23,547

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 DOP = 1.65 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 9, 2026: 1 USD = 18.55 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 9, 2026: 1 USD = 60.63 DOP (100 DOP = 1.65 USD). 1 EUR = 67.86 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Santa Cruz del Seibo 1,900 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santa Cruz del Seibo

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 Cruz del Seibo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 89%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $957 in Santa Cruz del Seibo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $638 in Santa Cruz del Seibo. That makes Santa Cruz del Seibo about 47% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $148 in Santa Cruz del Seibo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Santa Cruz del Seibo, where all-in costs run around $638, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Santa Cruz del Seibo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $638 in Santa Cruz del Seibo to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.