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 12.7% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 42.7% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 19.7% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 52.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 MX$212

$7.63 JMD 1,215

51.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42 MX$769

$63 JMD 10K

-33.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.5 MX$192

$8.61 JMD 1,372

21.95%

Cappuccino

$3.43 MX$62.8

$4.38 JMD 697

-21.69%

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

$1.49 MX$27.34

$1.3 JMD 208

14.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.27

$0.71 JMD 112

32.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$56.3

$2.52 JMD 402

22.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 MX$79.9

$3.19 JMD 509

36.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$25.44

$4.27 JMD 680

-67.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$33.81

$3.51 JMD 559

-47.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.88

$1.61 JMD 257

-1.86%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$46

$3.46 JMD 551

-27.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.26 MX$151

$10.89 JMD 1,735

-24.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.7 MX$159

$6.34 JMD 1,011

37.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.73 MX$196

$7.85 JMD 1,250

36.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$47.74

$6.17 JMD 983

-57.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.28

$3.14 JMD 500

-52.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.72

$4.17 JMD 665

-53.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 MX$38.26

$2.96 JMD 472

-29.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.05

$2.11 JMD 337

-14.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.62

$1.95 JMD 310

10.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 MX$18.85

$3 JMD 478

-65.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.7

$1.49 JMD 237

-27.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 MX$75.9

$8.93 JMD 1,422

-53.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.88 MX$163

$11.11 JMD 1,770

-20.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 MX$30.64

$2.82 JMD 449

-40.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 MX$46.31

$3.14 JMD 501

-19.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.68 MX$488

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$59.7

$1.13 JMD 180

188.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.51 MX$45.94

$3.27 JMD 521

-23.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 MX$57.2

$6.23 JMD 993

-49.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.96

$1.28 JMD 204

2.34%

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

$30.9K MX$565K

$43K JMD 6.9M

-28.23%

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

$23.9K MX$436.9K

$33.8K JMD 5.4M

-29.29%

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

$83 MX$1,520

$162 JMD 25.9K

-48.85%

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

$22.59 MX$414

$22.49 JMD 3,583

0.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.51 MX$540

$51.5 JMD 8,199

-42.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 MX$944

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 MX$337

Cinema Ticket

$4.9 MX$89.7

$12.89 JMD 2,054

-61.99%

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

$200 MX$3,668

$229 JMD 36.5K

-12.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,179 MX$94.8K

$2,492 JMD 397K

107.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.41 MX$667

$25.58 JMD 4,074

42.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.91 MX$731

$25.64 JMD 4,085

55.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MX$1,462

$72.2 JMD 11.5K

10.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 MX$1,605

$75.3 JMD 12K

16.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MX$18K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,612

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 MX$29.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 MX$21.8K

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

$394 JMD 62.8K

83.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

9.15

24.81%

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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