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 9.3% cheaper than Santa Lucia without rent, and 2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 28.4% cheaper than Santa Lucia without rent, and 31.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

$10.10 CUP 242

17.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

$29.77 CUP 714

40.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

$6.97 CUP 167

51.36%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

$3.38 CUP 81.0

6.51%

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

$1.12 CUP 26.91

33.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

$0.87 CUP 20.89

4.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

$2.01 CUP 48.35

53.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

$3.07 CUP 73.6

45.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$1.90 CUP 45.50

-26.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$1.84 CUP 44.05

3.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$1.54 CUP 37.00

3.90%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$3.76 CUP 90.3

-30.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$6.36 CUP 153

31.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$5.83 CUP 140

48.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$11.15 CUP 268

-2.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$2.87 CUP 68.9

-9.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$1.52 CUP 36.55

-5.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$2.08 CUP 49.94

-5.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$2.21 CUP 53.0

-4.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$1.97 CUP 47.32

-5.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$1.77 CUP 42.51

25.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$1.01 CUP 24.30

0.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$1.02 CUP 24.41

1.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$4.09 CUP 98.2

-0.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$11.92 CUP 286

-14.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$1.67 CUP 40.07

1.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$2.34 CUP 56.1

11.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

$0.22 CUP 5.31

131.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

$24.53 CUP 589

8.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$3.31 CUP 79.5

-4.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

$0.41 CUP 9.86

500.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$15.23 CUP 366

-78.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

$1.06 CUP 25.52

24.53%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

$70.0K CUP 1.7M

-57.03%

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

$79.8K CUP 1.9M

-70.23%

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$34.70 CUP 833

140.72%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$15.08 CUP 362

51.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$247 CUP 5,938

-87.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

$39.83 CUP 956

30.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

$15.28 CUP 367

19.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$0.97 CUP 23.34

427.84%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$168 CUP 4,032

19.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

$3,934 CUP 94.4K

35.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$69.9 CUP 1,679

-48.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$56.0 CUP 1,343

-28.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$101 CUP 2,412

-21.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$106 CUP 2,552

-16.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

$555 CUP 13.3K

70.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

$345 CUP 8,288

39.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

$747 CUP 17.9K

113.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

$502 CUP 12.1K

141.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

$345 CUP 8,272

1059.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

$374 CUP 8,971

1612.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

$55.2 CUP 1,326

1220.76%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Santa Lucia: January 11, 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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