Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Maria Capua Vetere

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,587 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Santa Maria Capua Vetere
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Santa Maria Capua Vetere Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,587

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Santa Maria Capua Vetere

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 Maria Capua Vetere actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,587 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Santa Maria Capua Vetere $1,587

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,439 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Santa Maria Capua Vetere $2,439

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,291 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Santa Maria Capua Vetere $3,291

Playa del Carmen is about 24% cheaper than Santa Maria Capua Vetere, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Santa Maria Capua Vetere is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$16.96 €15.08

-36.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$67.8 €60.3

-36.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.26 €10.01

4.71%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.00 €1.78

93.50%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.48 €2.21

-44.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.25 €1.11

-32.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.87 €3.44

-19.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.44 €3.06

47.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.03 €0.92

39.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.83 €1.62

21.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.16 €1.92

-31.94%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.68 €1.50

50.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$15.34 €13.64

-52.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$11.39 €10.13

-30.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$16.77 €14.91

-23.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.40 €2.13

20.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.66 €1.47

-13.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.12 €1.88

20.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.58 €3.18

-42.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.72 €1.53

16.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.60 €1.42

25.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.18 €1.05

0.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.32 €0.28

293.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.87 €6.11

-35.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.08 €6.30

35.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.95 €1.74

-18.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.48 €2.21

13.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.51 €1.34

-62.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$48.00 €42.69

-42.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$5.69 €5.06

-12.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.24 €2.00

56.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$23.52 €20.92

-77.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.00 €1.78

-26.50%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$35.8K €31.9K

-41.42%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$35.5K €31.5K

-32.60%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$210 €186

-59.82%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$11.21 €9.97

114.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$29.66 €26.38

-2.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$50.1 €44.58

25.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$20.69 €18.41

40.84%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$8.84 €7.87

-44.12%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$753 €669

-72.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,653 €5,028

-30.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$84.9 €75.5

-48.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$46.98 €41.79

-8.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$107 €95.2

-29.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$145 €129

-38.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$688 €612

46.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$500 €444

-25.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,012 €900

68.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$846 €752

30.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,673 €2,378

47.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,288 €2,035

169.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.92

192.09%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Santa Maria Capua Vetere: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$500 31.5% 33.6% $126

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$291 18.4% 12.7% $33

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$235 14.8% 16% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$250 15.8% 82.5% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$173 10.9% 52.9% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$68 4.3% 6.9% $5.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Santa Maria Capua Vetere

$71 4.5% 35% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $688 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $68.0 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $291 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇹 Santa Maria Capua Vetere

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

20:29 8:29 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

32,802

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Santa Maria Capua Vetere 9,410 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santa Maria Capua Vetere

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 Maria Capua Vetere: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Maria Capua Vetere is pricier by about 31%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,381 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,587 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere. That's a gap of about 31%.

Public transport costs about 73% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Santa Maria Capua Vetere at $1,587. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Maria Capua Vetere it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Maria Capua Vetere makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.