Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,215 and $1,214 a month, rent and utilities included.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
$1,214
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 9.2% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe without rent, and 0.1% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 8.9% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe without rent, and 16.4% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.97 MX$201
$8.81 STN 192
24.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.85 MX$823
$45.70 STN 999
-1.86%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.92 MX$219
$8.62 STN 188
38.28%
Cappuccino
$3.80 MX$69.9
$2.42 STN 52.8
57.02%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 MX$24.08
$1.74 STN 38.06
-24.71%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.86 MX$15.72
$1.12 STN 24.57
-23.21%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.21 MX$59.0
$1.76 STN 38.46
82.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.01 MX$92.0
$1.80 STN 39.44
178.33%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 MX$26.77
$1.58 STN 34.44
-7.59%
White Bread (500g)
$2.33 MX$42.72
$1.53 STN 33.42
52.29%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.48
$1.95 STN 42.63
-26.15%
Eggs
$2.46 MX$45.20
$4.50 STN 98.3
-45.33%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.70 MX$141
$19.41 STN 424
-60.33%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.89 MX$145
$19.55 STN 427
-59.64%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.80 MX$235
$20.90 STN 457
-38.76%
Apples (1kg)
$2.92 MX$53.6
$3.72 STN 81.2
-21.51%
Banana (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.11
$1.76 STN 38.50
-19.32%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.57 MX$47.10
$3.58 STN 78.3
-28.21%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.24
$3.37 STN 73.7
-36.50%
Potato (1kg)
$1.95 MX$35.75
$2.92 STN 63.9
-33.22%
Onion (1kg)
$1.94 MX$35.55
$2.37 STN 51.7
-18.14%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.13
$0.51 STN 11.06
125.49%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 MX$22.42
$1.98 STN 43.32
-38.38%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.38 MX$80.3
$2.25 STN 49.25
94.67%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.85 MX$181
$8.12 STN 177
21.31%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 MX$28.23
$1.41 STN 30.74
9.22%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 MX$49.86
$1.70 STN 37.22
60.00%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.64
$1.41 STN 30.77
-63.12%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.42 MX$503
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.91 MX$90.2
$1.73 STN 37.81
183.82%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.52 MX$64.7
$2.64 STN 57.8
33.33%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.69 MX$104
$13.90 STN 304
-59.06%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 MX$28.27
$1.69 STN 37.00
-8.88%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$389.9K
$24.3K STN 531.2K
-12.64%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K MX$449.6K
$31.1K STN 678.7K
-21.16%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.6 MX$1,535
$225 STN 4,918
-62.86%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$24.03 MX$441
$31.43 STN 687
-23.54%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.33 MX$539
$67.6 STN 1,477
-56.62%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$64.9 MX$1,191
$33.47 STN 731
93.82%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.46 MX$541
$25.52 STN 558
15.44%
Cinema Ticket
$5.09 MX$93.4
$20.45 STN 447
-75.11%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$208 MX$3,813
$228 STN 4,976
-8.82%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,045 MX$74.3K
$2,161 STN 47.2K
87.19%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.55 MX$818
-
-
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.06 MX$772
$75.8 STN 1,656
-44.51%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.5 MX$1,387
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$91.4 MX$1,678
$18.52 STN 405
393.36%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$986 MX$18.1K
$283 STN 6,178
248.89%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$385 MX$7,072
$195 STN 4,256
97.73%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,713 MX$31.5K
$946 STN 20.7K
81.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,108 MX$20.4K
$441 STN 9,627
151.58%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,016 MX$73.7K
$1,860 STN 40.6K
115.91%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,247 MX$114.7K
$1,129 STN 24.7K
453.49%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$758 MX$13.9K
$431 STN 9,428
75.68%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
7.38
55.15%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$385
Sao Tome and Principe
$195 49.4% $190
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$260
Sao Tome and Principe
$402 54.4% $142
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$204
Sao Tome and Principe
$149 26.8% $55
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Sao Tome and Principe
$324 137% $187
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$114
Sao Tome and Principe
$42 * 62.8% $72
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$75
Sao Tome and Principe
$74 0.9% $0.7
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$52
Sao Tome and Principe
$21 * 60.5% $31

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

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
🕒 Local time
04:59 4:59 AM
09:59 9:59 AM
5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
204,327
Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.48 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Sao Tome and Principe 10,390 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Sao Tome and Principe

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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