Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sao Tome Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sao Tome

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 18.4% cheaper than Sao Tome without rent, and 15.2% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 10.6% cheaper than Sao Tome without rent, and 15.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$211

$19.85 STN 420

-40.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$750

$46.94 STN 992

-10.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$191

$9.60 STN 203

11.98%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$61.8

$1.72 STN 36.36

101.74%

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

$1.45 MX$25.85

$1.84 STN 38.95

-21.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$16.06

$1.18 STN 24.93

-23.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$54.3

$1.70 STN 35.87

79.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$78.6

$1.92 STN 40.67

130.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.36

$1.31 STN 27.71

4.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.31

$1.03 STN 21.86

81.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.46

$2.26 STN 47.82

-31.86%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.53

$4.91 STN 104

-49.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$153

$19.98 STN 422

-56.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$154

$20.38 STN 431

-57.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$196

$25.01 STN 528

-55.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$48.91

$4.58 STN 96.7

-39.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.41

$1.13 STN 23.84

26.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.32

$4.16 STN 88.0

-55.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.56

$3.45 STN 72.8

-37.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.50

$2.53 STN 53.5

-25.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$39.96

$2.02 STN 42.58

11.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.99

$0.71 STN 15.03

50.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.10

$1.90 STN 40.13

-43.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$73.9

$2.36 STN 49.97

75.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$184

$8.29 STN 175

24.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$29.87

$1.33 STN 28.18

26.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$44.19

$1.29 STN 27.22

92.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.87

$1.23 STN 25.92

-55.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$472

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$57.2

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$44.15

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$55.3

$14.33 STN 303

-78.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.34

$1.65 STN 34.86

-23.64%

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

$30.7K MX$545.4K

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

$24.0K MX$427.6K

$23.2K STN 490.9K

3.48%

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

$82.5 MX$1,467

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

$22.29 MX$396

$34.78 STN 735

-35.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$534

$72.9 STN 1,539

-58.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$915

$37.58 STN 794

36.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$325

$28.54 STN 603

-35.91%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$88.7

$20.51 STN 433

-75.72%

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

$200 MX$3,558

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$94.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$635

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$704

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,433

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,571

$18.75 STN 396

371.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.2K

$343 STN 7,255

182.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,579

$235 STN 4,956

105.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.4K

$664 STN 14.0K

140.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$21.1K

$528 STN 11.2K

124.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$72.1K

$1,882 STN 39.8K

115.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$116.0K

$1,178 STN 24.9K

453.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.5K

$269 STN 5,674

181.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

7.38

54.74%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome: February 28, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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