Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Lucia

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,276 in Santa Lucia, rent and utilities included – about $860 less a year. The total is higher in Santa Lucia despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucia
Learn more

Santa Lucia Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Santa Lucia

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,276

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Lucia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,276 in Santa Lucia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Santa Lucia $1,276

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,819 in Santa Lucia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Santa Lucia $1,819

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,361 in Santa Lucia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Santa Lucia $2,361

Playa del Carmen is about 6% cheaper than Santa Lucia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Playa del Carmen and Santa Lucia are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Santa Lucia 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$9.83 CUP 236

11.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$30.34 CUP 728

42.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.98 CUP 167

68.77%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.35 CUP 80.5

13.73%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.11 CUP 26.66

15.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.92 CUP 22.18

-15.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.04 CUP 48.84

55.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$2.96 CUP 71.1

66.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.92 CUP 46.07

-26.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.87 CUP 44.95

18.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.53 CUP 36.83

-7.19%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$3.60 CUP 86.4

-30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$6.21 CUP 149

16.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.91 CUP 142

30.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$11.15 CUP 268

13.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$2.75 CUP 65.9

1.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.57 CUP 37.59

-12.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$2.06 CUP 49.49

23.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$2.19 CUP 52.6

-3.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.95 CUP 46.77

-0.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.79 CUP 42.87

5.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.02 CUP 24.46

12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$1.03 CUP 24.62

14.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$3.97 CUP 95.3

8.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$12.12 CUP 291

-17.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.63 CUP 39.10

-3.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.36 CUP 56.7

13.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.21 CUP 5.00

161.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$24.63 CUP 591

8.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$3.27 CUP 78.5

51.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.38 CUP 9.18

776.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$15.19 CUP 365

-64.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.02 CUP 24.46

41.18%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$69.8K CUP 1.7M

-70.41%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

-70.82%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$34.72 CUP 833

144.21%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$14.96 CUP 359

56.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$251 CUP 6,021

-88.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$40.36 CUP 969

41.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$14.78 CUP 355

95.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$1.02 CUP 24.50

403.92%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$164 CUP 3,939

25.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$4,059 CUP 97.4K

-3.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$70.5 CUP 1,691

-38.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$55.0 CUP 1,321

-24.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$101 CUP 2,416

-26.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$106 CUP 2,546

-15.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$548 CUP 13.1K

78.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$344 CUP 8,245

10.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$755 CUP 18.1K

126.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$502 CUP 12.0K

114.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$334 CUP 8,024

1079.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$368 CUP 8,836

1572.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$55.8 CUP 1,338

1217.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.94

131.78%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Santa Lucia: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Santa Lucia

$344 26.9% 9.8% $37

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Santa Lucia

$245 19.2% 3.7% $9.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Santa Lucia

$164 12.9% 18.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Santa Lucia

$301 23.6% 120% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Santa Lucia

$150 11.7% 33.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Santa Lucia

$42 3.3% 37% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Santa Lucia

$31 2.4% 39.2% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $548 in Santa Lucia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 13 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $30 in Santa Lucia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $245 – making Santa Lucia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇺 Santa Lucia

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.78 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Santa Lucia 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santa Lucia

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 Lucia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Lucia is pricier by about 6%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,914 in Santa Lucia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santa Lucia, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $548 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,276 in Santa Lucia. That makes Playa del Carmen about 6% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 7% less in Santa Lucia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,276 in Santa Lucia, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,276 in Santa Lucia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.