Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Seongnam

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,413 in Seongnam, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Seongnam
Learn more

Seongnam Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Seongnam

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,413

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,413 in Seongnam, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Seongnam $1,413

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,344 in Seongnam, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Seongnam $2,344

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,274 in Seongnam, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Seongnam $3,274

Playa del Carmen is about 15% cheaper than Seongnam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Seongnam is 5% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$6.81 ₩9,122

56.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$40.39 ₩54.1K

8.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.59 ₩8,831

78.91%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$4.09 ₩5,477

-7.33%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.61 ₩2,154

-19.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.79 ₩1,062

5.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.43 ₩4,598

-8.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.66 ₩4,901

34.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.20 ₩2,943

-35.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.16 ₩4,240

-30.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$3.74 ₩5,012

-60.70%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.68 ₩4,931

-32.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$9.50 ₩12.7K

-23.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$7.84 ₩10.5K

1.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$21.49 ₩28.8K

-40.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$7.68 ₩10.3K

-62.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$3.43 ₩4,593

-59.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$5.77 ₩7,731

-56.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$7.09 ₩9,510

-71.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.59 ₩4,816

-43.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.57 ₩3,444

-26.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.84 ₩3,808

-59.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.27 ₩1,709

-2.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.27 ₩4,379

30.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$13.62 ₩18.3K

-27.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.05 ₩2,752

-22.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.83 ₩2,457

50.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.04 ₩1,394

-50.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.61 ₩4,846

31.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.61 ₩824

432.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.85 ₩11.9K

-39.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.35 ₩1,803

13.33%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.5K ₩39.5M

-28.10%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$27.8K ₩37.2M

-16.19%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$211 ₩282.6K

-60.39%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$36.70 ₩49.2K

-36.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.66 ₩27.7K

33.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$51.2 ₩68.6K

10.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.39 ₩17.9K

110.53%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$11.25 ₩15.1K

-55.56%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$444 ₩594.5K

-53.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$17.6K ₩23.5M

-70.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$62.9 ₩84.3K

-30.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$32.99 ₩44.2K

28.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$68.3 ₩91.5K

6.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$80.9 ₩108.5K

9.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$488 ₩654.0K

103.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$376 ₩504.5K

1.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,250 ₩1.7M

33.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,051 ₩1.4M

2.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$7,009 ₩9.4M

-44.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$5,574 ₩7.5M

10.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.08

180.64%

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 Seongnam: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Seongnam

$376 26.6% 1.6% $6.1

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Seongnam

$417 29.5% 61.9% $159

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Seongnam

$157 11.1% 21.5% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Seongnam

$268 19% 99.7% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Seongnam

$110 7.8% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Seongnam

$74 5.2% 10.9% $7.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Seongnam

$11 * 0.8% 78.5% $40

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 $488 in Seongnam. 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 $40 in Seongnam. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $417 in Seongnam – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Seongnam

🕒 Local time

02:27 2:27 AM

16:27 4:27 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

967,510

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,341 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,506 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.64 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Seongnam 12,630 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Seongnam

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 Seongnam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Seongnam is pricier by about 18%, 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 $2,120 in Seongnam. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Seongnam, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $488 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,413 in Seongnam. That makes Playa del Carmen about 15% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $444 in Seongnam. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,413 in Seongnam. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.