Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santa Teresa

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,530 in Santa Teresa, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Santa Teresa
Learn more

Santa Teresa Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Santa Teresa

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,530

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,530 in Santa Teresa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Santa Teresa $1,530

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,295 in Santa Teresa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Santa Teresa $2,295

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,061 in Santa Teresa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Santa Teresa $3,061

Playa del Carmen is about 21% cheaper than Santa Teresa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Santa Teresa is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$9.90 ₡4,459

7.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$42.31 ₡19.1K

3.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$9.71 ₡4,374

21.42%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.70 ₡1,667

2.43%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.04 ₡917

-36.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.63 ₡735

-49.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.03 ₡1,366

3.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.55 ₡2,048

8.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.05 ₡925

-31.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.82 ₡1,270

-21.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.16 ₡972

-31.94%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.98 ₡1,344

-16.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$10.01 ₡4,509

-27.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$8.97 ₡4,042

-11.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.60 ₡6,127

-5.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$4.56 ₡2,052

-36.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.44 ₡651

-4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$4.12 ₡1,856

-39.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$3.07 ₡1,385

-33.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.39 ₡1,526

-40.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.58 ₡1,161

-26.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.01 ₡455

12.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$2.85 ₡1,282

-56.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.09 ₡2,292

-16.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.79 ₡6,211

-28.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.36 ₡1,063

-32.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.62 ₡1,179

4.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.96 ₡433

-46.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.84 ₡830

158.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.83 ₡826

77.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.95 ₡3,580

-32.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.46 ₡659

4.79%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$38.4K ₡17.3M

-44.74%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$32.7K ₡14.7M

-28.92%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$84.9 ₡38.2K

-1.66%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$26.16 ₡11.8K

-11.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$50.4 ₡22.7K

-45.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$50.1 ₡22.6K

12.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$23.66 ₡10.7K

19.15%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$8.89 ₡4,004

-43.76%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$573 ₡257.9K

-63.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$12.4K ₡5.6M

-57.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$61.8 ₡27.8K

-29.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$51.2 ₡23.0K

-16.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$127 ₡57.4K

-42.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$107 ₡48.0K

-17.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$706 ₡318.2K

40.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$592 ₡266.6K

-35.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,461 ₡657.9K

14.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$955 ₡430.0K

13.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.17

12.59%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Santa Teresa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Santa Teresa

$592 38.7% 54.8% $209

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Santa Teresa

$346 22.6% 34.6% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Santa Teresa

$192 12.5% 4.3% $8.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Santa Teresa

$161 10.6% 20.2% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Santa Teresa

$156 10.2% 40.4% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Santa Teresa

$68 4.4% 2.1% $1.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Santa Teresa

$15 * 1% 70.5% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $706 in Santa Teresa. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $42 in Santa Teresa. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $346 in Santa Teresa – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Santa Teresa

🕒 Local time

04:20 4:20 AM

03:20 3:20 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,099

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Santa Teresa 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santa Teresa

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 Teresa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Teresa is pricier by about 27%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,295 in Santa Teresa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santa Teresa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $706 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,530 in Santa Teresa. That makes Playa del Carmen about 21% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $573 in Santa Teresa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Santa Teresa at $1,530. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Teresa it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,202 versus $1,530 in Santa Teresa. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.