Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santiago City Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santiago City

๐Ÿ˜ Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 122.3% more expensive than Santiago City without rent, and 90.4% more expensive with rent.
๐Ÿ˜ Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 63% more expensive than Santiago City without rent, and 119.3% more expensive with rent.
Currency
๐Ÿฝ Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.99 MX$227
$6.8 โ‚ฑ379
76.32%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.47 MX$803
$13.44 โ‚ฑ748
216.00%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.47 MX$198
$3.45 โ‚ฑ192
203.48%
Cappuccino
$3.6 MX$68.2
$0.92 โ‚ฑ51.4
291.30%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.44 MX$27.16
$0.84 โ‚ฑ46.63
71.43%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.89 MX$16.79
$0.31 โ‚ฑ17.15
187.10%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 MX$58.5
$1.08 โ‚ฑ60.4
186.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.58 MX$86.6
$1.82 โ‚ฑ101
151.65%
๐Ÿ›’ Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 MX$26.04
$1.65 โ‚ฑ91.8
-16.36%
White Bread (500g)
$1.85 MX$34.9
$1.26 โ‚ฑ69.9
46.83%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 MX$29.68
$0.76 โ‚ฑ42.55
106.58%
Eggs
$2.55 MX$48.3
$1.58 โ‚ฑ87.9
61.39%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$163
$2.6 โ‚ฑ145
231.15%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$3.26 โ‚ฑ182
161.96%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.98 MX$208
$5.51 โ‚ฑ307
99.27%
Apples (1kg)
$2.72 MX$51.4
$2.67 โ‚ฑ149
1.87%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.57
$1.07 โ‚ฑ59.5
41.12%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 MX$35.63
$0.73 โ‚ฑ40.48
157.53%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.42
$1.42 โ‚ฑ79.3
54.23%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 MX$35.3
$3.29 โ‚ฑ183
-43.16%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.37
$1.08 โ‚ฑ60.1
102.78%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.23
$0.81 โ‚ฑ45.28
32.10%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.64
$0.94 โ‚ฑ52.3
15.96%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 MX$74.9
$2.31 โ‚ฑ129
71.43%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.86 MX$167
$4.08 โ‚ฑ227
117.16%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.72 MX$32.53
$1.04 โ‚ฑ57.8
65.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 MX$49.37
$1.66 โ‚ฑ92.4
57.23%
๐ŸšŒ Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.74
$0.28 โ‚ฑ15.7
85.71%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.59 MX$503
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 MX$61.2
$0.83 โ‚ฑ46.47
290.36%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 MX$44.94
$0.13 โ‚ฑ7.31
1730.77%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$58.7
$3.46 โ‚ฑ193
-10.12%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 MX$24.85
$1.14 โ‚ฑ63.6
14.91%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K MX$573K
$21.7K โ‚ฑ1.2M
39.41%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24K MX$453.6K
$17K โ‚ฑ947.9K
40.93%
๐Ÿงพ Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$73.3 โ‚ฑ4,079
15.00%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.14 MX$419
$26.84 โ‚ฑ1,494
-17.51%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.14 MX$570
$23.34 โ‚ฑ1,300
29.13%
๐ŸŽ‰ Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52 MX$983
$34.29 โ‚ฑ1,909
51.59%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.72 MX$354
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.07 MX$95.9
$5.43 โ‚ฑ302
-6.63%
๐Ÿงธ Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,787
$88 โ‚ฑ4,902
127.51%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,333 MX$100.8K
$4,328 โ‚ฑ241K
23.22%
๐Ÿ‘•๐Ÿ‘Ÿ Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.74 MX$676
$43.08 โ‚ฑ2,399
-17.04%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.8 MX$753
$23.56 โ‚ฑ1,312
68.93%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79 MX$1,493
$53.7 โ‚ฑ2,988
47.17%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,671
$39.52 โ‚ฑ2,200
123.61%
๐Ÿ  Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$965 MX$18.3K
$264 โ‚ฑ14.7K
265.61%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$474 MX$8,968
$175 โ‚ฑ9,763
170.54%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,653 MX$31.2K
$578 โ‚ฑ32.2K
185.90%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,202 MX$22.7K
$395 โ‚ฑ22K
203.99%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,081 MX$58.3K
$2,259 โ‚ฑ125.8K
36.41%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,529 MX$142.3K
-
-
๐Ÿ’ต Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Santiago City
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$792 MX$15K
$233 โ‚ฑ13K
239.66%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
6.67
71.21%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input โ€“ minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Santiago City: October 28, 2025

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