Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Scottburgh

For one person, living is cheaper in Scottburgh: $1,105 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Scottburgh
Learn more

Scottburgh Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Scottburgh

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Scottburgh

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,105 in Scottburgh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Scottburgh $1,105

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,736 in Scottburgh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Scottburgh $1,736

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,368 in Scottburgh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Scottburgh $2,368

Playa del Carmen costs about 9% more than Scottburgh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Scottburgh are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Scottburgh 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$8.66 R 144

23.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$36.96 R 613

18.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$6.09 R 101

93.60%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$2.59 R 43.05

46.33%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$1.10 R 18.28

18.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.82 R 13.53

1.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$2.35 R 38.98

34.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$2.34 R 38.83

110.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.24 R 20.50

13.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$0.96 R 15.91

129.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.49 R 24.70

-1.34%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.29 R 37.98

9.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$8.04 R 133

-9.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$5.21 R 86.5

52.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$7.26 R 120

77.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$1.97 R 32.71

47.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.86 R 30.92

-25.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.94 R 32.24

28.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.60 R 26.61

26.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.51 R 25.03

33.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.37 R 22.69

38.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$1.16 R 19.20

-1.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.18 R 19.62

5.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$3.54 R 58.7

20.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$4.87 R 80.8

101.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.50 R 24.84

6.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.02 R 33.51

36.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$1.88 R 31.26

-72.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$0.44 R 7.24

981.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.71 R 11.73

357.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$7.73 R 128

-30.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.50 R 24.85

2.00%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$35.9K R 596.4K

-40.99%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$34.1K R 565.6K

-31.77%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$149 R 2,473

-43.99%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$38.28 R 635

-39.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$39.10 R 649

-29.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$30.86 R 512

82.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$13.26 R 220

112.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$7.54 R 125

-33.69%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$311 R 5,166

-33.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$7,387 R 122.6K

-29.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$52.5 R 871

-17.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$27.25 R 452

56.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$95.5 R 1,584

-23.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$83.8 R 1,391

5.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$361 R 5,996

175.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$368 R 6,113

3.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$821 R 13.6K

103.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$792 R 13.1K

36.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$759 R 12.6K

415.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$715 R 11.9K

757.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.7

-2.14%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Scottburgh: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Scottburgh

$368 33.4% 3.6% $14

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Scottburgh

$193 17.5% 25% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Scottburgh

$143 12.9% 28.7% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Scottburgh

$226 20.5% 68.6% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Scottburgh

$117 10.6% 4.8% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Scottburgh

$46 4.2% 30.9% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Scottburgh

$12 * 1% 77.2% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $361 in Scottburgh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $37 in Scottburgh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $193 – making Scottburgh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Scottburgh

🕒 Local time

06:29 6:29 AM

13:29 1:29 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

23,949

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Scottburgh 13,760 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Scottburgh

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 Scottburgh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 9%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,657 in Scottburgh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Scottburgh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $361 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,105 in Scottburgh. That makes Scottburgh about 8% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $311 in Scottburgh. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,105 in Scottburgh, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,105 in Scottburgh to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.