Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Shillong

For one person, living is cheaper in Shillong: $402 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Shillong
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Shillong Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Shillong

🇮🇳 India

$402

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $402 in Shillong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Shillong $402

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $638 in Shillong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Shillong $638

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $874 in Shillong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Shillong $874

Playa del Carmen costs about 201% more than Shillong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Shillong are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Shillong 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$198

$3.35 ₹318

221.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$792

$11.44 ₹1,086

276.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$217

$4.81 ₹457

145.11%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.1

$1.66 ₹157

133.13%

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

$1.37 MX$25.18

$0.41 ₹38.89

234.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.38

$0.15 ₹13.94

460.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.0

$1.22 ₹116

154.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.2

$3.49 ₹331

45.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.43

$0.61 ₹57.9

136.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.05

$0.31 ₹29.07

619.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.05

$0.58 ₹55.4

153.45%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.51

$0.92 ₹86.9

175.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$134

$3.86 ₹366

89.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.43 ₹231

223.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$235

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.4

$2.16 ₹205

34.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.41

$0.68 ₹64.4

111.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$46.87

$0.93 ₹88.4

174.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.86

$0.52 ₹49.22

296.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.81

$0.31 ₹29.25

545.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$36.91

$0.35 ₹32.78

474.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$21.92

$0.22 ₹20.91

440.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.12

$0.25 ₹23.68

404.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.0

$5.11 ₹485

-13.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$176

$4.83 ₹458

98.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.29

$1.28 ₹121

24.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.7

$1.97 ₹187

42.64%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.78 ₹454

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$512

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$91.7

$0.74 ₹70.3

572.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.4

$0.28 ₹26.52

1150.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.4

$1.29 ₹123

318.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$26.96

$1.09 ₹104

34.86%

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

$21.0K MX$386.1K

$12.6K ₹1.2M

66.18%

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

$23.9K MX$439.9K

$16.0K ₹1.5M

48.95%

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

$84.2 MX$1,549

$34.74 ₹3,299

142.40%

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

$23.99 MX$441

$3.29 ₹313

629.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$534

$6.12 ₹581

374.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,159

$9.99 ₹948

530.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$536

$5.11 ₹486

470.25%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$90.9

$3.10 ₹294

59.35%

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

$204 MX$3,746

$27.65 ₹2,626

636.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.5K

$1,164 ₹110.5K

238.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$802

$17.41 ₹1,653

150.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$793

$22.11 ₹2,100

95.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,394

$36.74 ₹3,489

106.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,630

$27.45 ₹2,606

222.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$210 ₹19.9K

380.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,881

$131 ₹12.4K

186.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.4K

$727 ₹69.0K

135.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$284 ₹27.0K

289.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$113.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$442 ₹41.9K

70.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.38

55.15%

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 Shillong: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Shillong

$131 32.5% 65.1% $243

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Shillong

$86 21.3% 66.9% $173

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Shillong

$76 19% 62.2% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Shillong

$44 11% 67.8% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Shillong

$47 11.6% 58.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Shillong

$16 4% 77.8% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Shillong

$2.1 * 0.5% 95.9% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $210 in Shillong. 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 71% 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $11.00 in Shillong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $86.0 – making Shillong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇳 Shillong

🕒 Local time

22:25 10:25 PM

08:55 8:55 AM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

143,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.83 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.35 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.4 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.72 MXN (100 MXN = 4.83 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.35 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Shillong 14,880 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Shillong

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 Shillong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 201%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $603 in Shillong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Shillong, 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 $402 in Shillong. That's a gap of about 201%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $27.65 in Shillong. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Shillong, where all-in costs run around $402, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Shillong it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Shillong. 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.