Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Shiga

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Shiga: $1,204 and $1,207 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Shiga
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Shiga Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Shiga

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,207 in Shiga, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Shiga $1,207

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,897 in Shiga, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Shiga $1,897

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,588 in Shiga, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Shiga $2,588

Playa del Carmen and Shiga have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Playa del Carmen and Shiga are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Shiga 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.19 ¥976

76.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$31.73 ¥5,003

36.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.96 ¥782

137.50%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.95 ¥465

29.15%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.31 ¥206

-2.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.70 ¥110

11.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.76 ¥436

14.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.53 ¥557

39.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.28 ¥203

10.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.24 ¥196

79.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.89 ¥613

-63.50%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.04 ¥321

23.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$9.45 ¥1,490

-23.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$9.19 ¥1,450

-16.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$18.48 ¥2,914

-31.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.44 ¥542

-19.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.03 ¥320

-32.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.04 ¥322

25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$3.97 ¥625

-46.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.52 ¥240

27.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.14 ¥179

65.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.36 ¥215

-15.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.87 ¥137

35.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.97 ¥626

8.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$9.77 ¥1,541

1.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.90 ¥300

-16.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.13 ¥493

-14.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.16 ¥183

-52.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$56.2 ¥8,863

-52.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.86 ¥609

28.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$3.20 ¥504

4.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$21.98 ¥3,466

-75.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.09 ¥172

32.11%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$22.7K ¥3.6M

-8.88%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

53.79%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$137 ¥21.6K

-38.15%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$24.58 ¥3,876

-4.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$18.76 ¥2,957

52.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$52.0 ¥8,202

9.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$12.55 ¥1,979

-59.04%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$697 ¥110.0K

-70.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$13.4K ¥2.1M

-70.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$48.59 ¥7,662

-10.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$30.84 ¥4,863

34.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$73.3 ¥11.6K

1.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$90.1 ¥14.2K

-0.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$551 ¥86.9K

77.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$337 ¥53.1K

13.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$998 ¥157.3K

71.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$727 ¥114.7K

47.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$4,617 ¥728.0K

-14.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$2,022 ¥318.8K

204.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,210 ¥190.9K

-39.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.21

418.10%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Shiga: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Shiga

$337 27.9% 11.6% $44

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Shiga

$294 24.4% 15.4% $39

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Shiga

$129 10.7% 36.4% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Shiga

$180 15% 31.8% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Shiga

$109 9.1% 2.2% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Shiga

$77 6.4% 14.6% $9.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Shiga

$81 6.7% 60% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $551 in Shiga. 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 65% higher in Shiga. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $32 in Shiga. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $294 in Shiga – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Shiga

🕒 Local time

08:08 8:08 AM

22:08 10:08 PM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

23,836

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Shiga 12,330 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Shiga

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 Shiga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,811 in Shiga. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Shiga, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $551 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 15% more in Shiga, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $697 in Shiga. 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,207 in Shiga, 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,207 in Shiga. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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