Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Setagaya-ku

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Setagaya-ku: $1,210 and $1,183 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Setagaya-ku
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Setagaya-ku Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Setagaya-ku

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Setagaya-ku

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 Setagaya-ku actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,183 in Setagaya-ku, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Setagaya-ku $1,183

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,834 in Setagaya-ku, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Setagaya-ku $1,834

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,484 in Setagaya-ku, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Setagaya-ku $2,484

Playa del Carmen costs about 2% more than Setagaya-ku, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Setagaya-ku are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Setagaya-ku 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$6.12 ¥968

75.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$25.64 ¥4,050

67.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$4.36 ¥690

170.41%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.97 ¥470

30.30%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.04 ¥165

31.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.65 ¥102

29.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.19 ¥346

41.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.22 ¥508

57.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.23 ¥194

17.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.72 ¥272

29.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$3.64 ¥575

-59.62%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.17 ¥186

116.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$10.40 ¥1,643

-29.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$6.11 ¥965

28.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.25 ¥2,252

-10.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$5.59 ¥883

-48.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.74 ¥433

-47.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.95 ¥466

-13.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.14 ¥654

-50.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.62 ¥415

-23.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.63 ¥416

-23.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.24 ¥196

-4.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.56 ¥87.7

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.79 ¥599

16.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$6.26 ¥989

53.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.81 ¥287

-12.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.09 ¥330

34.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.46 ¥231

-60.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$50.7 ¥8,012

-45.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.23 ¥510

54.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.66 ¥421

31.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$20.85 ¥3,294

-74.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.10 ¥174

33.64%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$21.2K ¥3.4M

-1.14%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$18.6K ¥2.9M

28.82%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$131 ¥20.6K

-35.54%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$23.82 ¥3,764

0.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$31.73 ¥5,013

-8.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$55.0 ¥8,691

14.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$11.52 ¥1,820

-57.12%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$636 ¥100.5K

-67.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$14.7K ¥2.3M

-73.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$62.3 ¥9,846

-30.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$36.37 ¥5,747

18.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$62.1 ¥9,814

21.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$102 ¥16.2K

-13.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$534 ¥84.4K

88.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$325 ¥51.4K

15.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,152 ¥182.0K

48.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$674 ¥106.4K

64.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,724 ¥588.4K

5.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,635 ¥258.4K

277.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

472.50%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Setagaya-ku: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Setagaya-ku

$325 27.5% 13.1% $49

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Setagaya-ku

$281 23.7% 8.6% $22

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Setagaya-ku

$122 10.3% 39.7% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Setagaya-ku

$186 15.7% 35.7% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Setagaya-ku

$118 10% 4.8% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Setagaya-ku

$78 6.6% 7.1% $5.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Setagaya-ku

$73 6.2% 39.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $534 in Setagaya-ku. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $26.00 in Setagaya-ku. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $281 in Setagaya-ku – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Setagaya-ku

🕒 Local time

13:31 1:31 PM

03:31 3:31 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

943,664

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Setagaya-ku 12,060 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Setagaya-ku

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 Setagaya-ku: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,775 in Setagaya-ku. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Setagaya-ku, 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,183 in Setagaya-ku. That's a gap of about 2%.

Public transport costs about 82% less in Setagaya-ku. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Setagaya-ku, where all-in costs run around $1,183, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Setagaya-ku it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Setagaya-ku – 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 Setagaya-ku. 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.