Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santiago de los Caballeros Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santiago de los Caballeros

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 22.7% more expensive than Santiago de los Caballeros without rent, and 40.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 7.6% more expensive than Santiago de los Caballeros without rent, and 62.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.61 MX$200

$6.11 DOP 365

90.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.75 MX$738

$44.31 DOP 2,647

-3.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 MX$183

$5.05 DOP 302

109.90%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$62.0

$1.96 DOP 117

83.16%

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

$1.45 MX$25.08

$0.80 DOP 47.95

81.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.50

$0.69 DOP 41.24

30.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.03 MX$52.4

$2.50 DOP 149

21.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 MX$78.8

$5.18 DOP 310

-11.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$25.07

$1.07 DOP 63.9

35.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 MX$31.55

$1.46 DOP 87.5

25.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 MX$27.77

$1.46 DOP 86.9

10.27%

Eggs

$2.54 MX$43.82

$1.34 DOP 80.2

89.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.54 MX$148

$7.31 DOP 437

16.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.47 MX$146

$6.16 DOP 368

37.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.86 MX$188

$11.03 DOP 659

-1.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 MX$47.13

$2.20 DOP 131

24.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$25.77

$0.85 DOP 50.6

75.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$33.55

$2.02 DOP 121

-3.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 MX$37.38

$1.90 DOP 114

13.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 MX$31.88

$2.21 DOP 132

-16.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$37.80

$2.38 DOP 142

-7.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.52

$0.88 DOP 52.7

21.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$18.71

$0.91 DOP 54.1

18.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 MX$70.1

$3.88 DOP 232

4.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.46 MX$181

$11.31 DOP 676

-7.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 MX$28.56

$2.60 DOP 155

-36.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 MX$44.01

$3.09 DOP 185

-17.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 MX$9.60

$0.62 DOP 36.92

-9.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.20 MX$453

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.14 MX$54.2

$3.47 DOP 207

-9.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.37 MX$40.96

$2.22 DOP 132

6.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$56.0

$5.93 DOP 354

-45.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$22.70

$1.26 DOP 75.0

3.97%

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

$30.5K MX$527.4K

$16.7K DOP 998.3K

82.76%

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

$23.8K MX$411.4K

$18.5K DOP 1.1M

28.62%

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

$83.1 MX$1,436

$75.2 DOP 4,491

10.60%

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

$22.15 MX$383

$18.92 DOP 1,130

17.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.37 MX$507

$36.65 DOP 2,189

-19.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 MX$884

$25.94 DOP 1,550

97.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.69 MX$323

$17.03 DOP 1,017

9.75%

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 MX$84.4

$6.09 DOP 364

-19.70%

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

$199 MX$3,431

$251 DOP 15.0K

-20.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,207 MX$89.9K

$1,929 DOP 115.3K

169.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.93 MX$621

$60.5 DOP 3,614

-40.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.39 MX$680

$36.75 DOP 2,196

7.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.3 MX$1,387

$80.2 DOP 4,788

0.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 MX$1,512

$68.5 DOP 4,091

27.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$963 MX$16.6K

$423 DOP 25.3K

127.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,326

$271 DOP 16.2K

77.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 MX$28.4K

$666 DOP 39.8K

146.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 MX$20.6K

$364 DOP 21.7K

227.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,957 MX$68.3K

$953 DOP 56.9K

315.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,513 MX$112.5K

$910 DOP 54.3K

616.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$726 MX$12.5K

$500 DOP 29.8K

45.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

12.9

-11.47%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: April 12, 2026

Last update for Santiago de los Caballeros: April 13, 2026

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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