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 9.1% more expensive than Santa Cruz without rent, and 41.6% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 6.1% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 54.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

$7.46 JMD 1,175

59.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

$63.1 JMD 9,947

-33.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

$8.74 JMD 1,377

20.71%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

$4.39 JMD 692

-18.00%

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

$1.37 JMD 216

9.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

$0.75 JMD 118

21.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

$2.44 JMD 384

26.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

$3.17 JMD 500

41.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$4.32 JMD 681

-67.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$3.52 JMD 554

-46.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$1.62 JMD 256

-1.23%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$3.61 JMD 569

-27.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$10.94 JMD 1,723

-23.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$6.48 JMD 1,021

33.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$7.50 JMD 1,182

45.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$5.96 JMD 939

-56.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$3.16 JMD 498

-54.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$4.26 JMD 671

-53.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$3.04 JMD 479

-30.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$2.05 JMD 323

-9.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$2.03 JMD 319

9.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$2.98 JMD 470

-65.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$1.45 JMD 229

-28.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$8.70 JMD 1,370

-53.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$11.52 JMD 1,815

-11.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$2.88 JMD 454

-41.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$3.18 JMD 501

-17.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$1.13 JMD 178

178.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

$3.26 JMD 514

-24.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$6.45 JMD 1,016

-49.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

$1.30 JMD 204

1.54%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

$43.6K JMD 6.9M

-31.05%

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

$33.7K JMD 5.3M

-29.42%

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$161 JMD 25.3K

-48.02%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$21.92 JMD 3,453

4.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$50.3 JMD 7,917

-40.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$13.25 JMD 2,088

-61.36%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$223 JMD 35.1K

-9.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

$2,530 JMD 398.7K

110.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$26.16 JMD 4,121

36.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$25.52 JMD 4,020

57.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$71.5 JMD 11.3K

10.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$77.6 JMD 12.2K

15.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

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

$404 JMD 63.7K

80.43%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: January 12, 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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