Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Lucia Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Lucia

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 18.2% cheaper than Santa Lucia without rent, and 1.4% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 10.8% more expensive than Santa Lucia without rent, and 30.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$212

$10.17 CUP 244

16.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$755

$29.89 CUP 717

41.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$192

$7.03 CUP 169

52.92%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$62.2

$3.37 CUP 80.9

2.97%

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

$1.45 MX$26.01

$1.12 CUP 26.98

29.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$16.16

$0.88 CUP 21.20

2.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$54.7

$1.99 CUP 47.74

53.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$79.1

$2.97 CUP 71.4

48.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.51

$1.99 CUP 47.74

-31.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.51

$1.81 CUP 43.56

3.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.63

$1.46 CUP 34.97

5.48%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.81

$3.71 CUP 89.0

-32.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$154

$6.34 CUP 152

35.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$155

$5.70 CUP 137

51.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$197

$11.14 CUP 267

-1.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$49.22

$2.84 CUP 68.1

-3.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.56

$1.52 CUP 36.60

-5.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.52

$2.07 CUP 49.70

-9.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.80

$2.27 CUP 54.6

-4.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.70

$2.01 CUP 48.31

-6.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$40.21

$1.72 CUP 41.32

30.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$19.11

$0.98 CUP 23.42

9.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.22

$0.98 CUP 23.44

9.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$74.4

$4.12 CUP 98.9

0.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$185

$11.98 CUP 288

-13.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$30.06

$1.69 CUP 40.60

-0.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$44.46

$2.33 CUP 55.9

6.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.93

$0.19 CUP 4.53

189.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$475

$24.64 CUP 591

7.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$57.6

$3.21 CUP 77.0

0.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$44.42

$0.38 CUP 9.16

552.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$55.7

$14.75 CUP 354

-78.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.48

$1.06 CUP 25.52

18.87%

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

$30.7K MX$548.8K

$70.1K CUP 1.7M

-56.29%

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

$24.0K MX$430.3K

$79.3K CUP 1.9M

-69.69%

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

$82.5 MX$1,476

$34.54 CUP 829

138.80%

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

$22.29 MX$399

$15.14 CUP 363

47.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$537

$250 CUP 6,012

-88.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$921

$40.62 CUP 975

26.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$327

$14.87 CUP 357

23.00%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$89.2

$1.01 CUP 24.34

393.07%

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

$200 MX$3,580

$165 CUP 3,957

21.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$94.9K

$3,954 CUP 94.9K

34.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$639

$70.6 CUP 1,694

-49.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$708

$55.4 CUP 1,330

-28.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,442

$102 CUP 2,440

-20.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,581

$105 CUP 2,519

-15.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.4K

$548 CUP 13.1K

76.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,632

$350 CUP 8,401

37.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.6K

$746 CUP 17.9K

113.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$21.2K

$493 CUP 11.8K

140.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$72.5K

$338 CUP 8,104

1099.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$116.7K

$373 CUP 8,942

1650.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.5K

$56.3 CUP 1,352

1242.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

4.94

131.17%

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 Lucia: March 2, 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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