Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Satu Mare

For one person, living is cheaper in Satu Mare: $930 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Satu Mare
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Satu Mare Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Satu Mare

🇷🇴 Romania

$930

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Satu Mare

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $930 in Satu Mare, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Satu Mare $930

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,406 in Satu Mare, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Satu Mare $1,406

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,883 in Satu Mare, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Satu Mare $1,883

Playa del Carmen costs about 30% more than Satu Mare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Satu Mare are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Satu Mare 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$8.20 RON 38.81

32.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$32.51 RON 154

35.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$6.48 RON 30.67

81.48%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.50 RON 11.81

47.20%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.49 RON 7.04

-10.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.28 RON 6.07

-35.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.87 RON 8.87

63.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.44 RON 11.55

102.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.13 RON 5.33

30.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.06 RON 5.04

109.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.13 RON 5.36

30.97%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.69 RON 12.71

-7.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$7.35 RON 34.79

2.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$7.53 RON 35.63

5.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$10.83 RON 51.2

16.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.10 RON 5.19

152.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.30 RON 6.15

10.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.28 RON 6.04

104.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.43 RON 6.75

49.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.19 RON 5.61

69.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.37 RON 6.48

45.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.88 RON 4.14

29.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.71 RON 3.34

69.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$5.57 RON 26.38

-23.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$6.19 RON 29.29

61.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.23 RON 5.80

25.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.70 RON 8.06

56.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.54 RON 2.56

-1.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$23.41 RON 111

17.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.80 RON 3.79

512.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.85 RON 4.03

303.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.10 RON 38.34

-33.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.58 RON 7.47

-8.23%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$22.8K RON 107.9K

-7.19%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$25.3K RON 119.5K

-8.87%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$126 RON 597

-32.32%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$7.14 RON 33.79

228.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$7.25 RON 34.30

292.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$41.55 RON 197

49.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$10.68 RON 50.5

168.54%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.19 RON 29.29

-17.61%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$155 RON 733

29.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$3,829 RON 18.1K

3.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$59.6 RON 282

-25.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$28.51 RON 135

45.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$85.6 RON 405

-15.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$69.2 RON 328

29.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$322 RON 1,524

204.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$260 RON 1,229

43.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$647 RON 3,060

159.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$410 RON 1,938

167.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,007 RON 4,765

292.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,056 RON 4,995

481.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$650 RON 3,075

13.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.05

62.41%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Satu Mare: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Satu Mare

$260 27.9% 30.3% $113

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Satu Mare

$195 21% 24.5% $63

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Satu Mare

$140 15.1% 29.9% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Satu Mare

$141 15.1% 2.4% $3.3

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Satu Mare

$109 11.8% 2.1% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Satu Mare

$54 5.8% 25.5% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Satu Mare

$31 3.3% 40.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $322 in Satu Mare. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 13% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $33.00 in Satu Mare. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $195 – making Satu Mare the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Satu Mare

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

02:28 2:28 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

102,411

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Satu Mare 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Satu Mare

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 Satu Mare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,394 in Satu Mare. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Satu Mare, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $930 in Satu Mare. That's a gap of about 30%.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Satu Mare. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Satu Mare, where all-in costs run around $930, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Satu Mare it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Satu Mare – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Satu Mare. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.