Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Shurugwi

For one person, living is cheaper in Shurugwi: $600 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Shurugwi
Learn more

Shurugwi Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Shurugwi

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$600

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $600 in Shurugwi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Shurugwi $600

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $986 in Shurugwi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Shurugwi $986

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,371 in Shurugwi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Shurugwi $1,371

Playa del Carmen costs about 100% more than Shurugwi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Playa del Carmen and Shurugwi are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Shurugwi 56% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$12.57 ZWL 334

-15.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$40.97 ZWL 1,087

6.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$5.39 ZWL 143

118.74%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$1.65 ZWL 43.83

129.70%

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

$1.30 MX$24.07

$0.82 ZWL 21.89

58.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.47

$0.42 ZWL 11.20

97.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

$1.29 ZWL 34.14

144.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

$2.05 ZWL 54.5

140.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.14

$1.52 ZWL 40.46

-7.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.75

$0.99 ZWL 26.32

122.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.33

$1.62 ZWL 42.96

-9.26%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.34

$1.95 ZWL 51.7

28.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$11.48 ZWL 305

-36.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.47 ZWL 145

45.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.64 ZWL 176

93.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$3.05 ZWL 81.0

-4.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.67

$1.69 ZWL 44.90

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.23

$2.03 ZWL 53.8

22.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.67

$1.59 ZWL 42.20

27.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.58

$1.71 ZWL 45.28

18.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.32

$1.52 ZWL 40.25

25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.24

$1.33 ZWL 35.25

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.99

$0.96 ZWL 25.39

29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$1.83 ZWL 48.61

133.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

$8.24 ZWL 219

19.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.43

$1.41 ZWL 37.46

12.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

$1.86 ZWL 49.46

47.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$4.10 ZWL 109

16.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$1.94 ZWL 51.6

67.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$4.89 ZWL 130

10.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.36

$1.84 ZWL 48.70

-16.85%

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

$21.2K MX$393.7K

$21.9K ZWL 580.3K

-2.99%

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

$23.3K MX$431.7K

$27.9K ZWL 741.6K

-16.74%

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

$83.5 MX$1,549

$52.1 ZWL 1,384

60.13%

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

$23.19 MX$430

$21.53 ZWL 571

7.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$512

$72.2 ZWL 1,917

-61.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,047

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$523

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.8

$10.05 ZWL 267

-50.25%

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

$207 MX$3,843

$419 ZWL 11.1K

-50.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$16.8K ZWL 445.7K

-68.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$806

$21.10 ZWL 560

105.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$789

$20.20 ZWL 536

110.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,350

$36.40 ZWL 966

99.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,640

$41.15 ZWL 1,092

114.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,097

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$113.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

13.69

-16.36%

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 Shurugwi: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Shurugwi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Shurugwi

$215 35.8% 16.6% $43

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Shurugwi

$152 25.3% 24.1% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Shurugwi

$146 24.3% 8.7% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Shurugwi

$53 8.9% 51.9% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Shurugwi

$20 * 3.4% 69.7% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Shurugwi

$14 * 2.3% 72.6% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $41 in Shurugwi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $215 – making Shurugwi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇼 Shurugwi

🕒 Local time

22:15 10:15 PM

05:15 5:15 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

16,866

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.77 USD

100 ZWL = 3.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 26.54 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.77 USD). 1 EUR = 29.79 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.36 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Shurugwi 13,490 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Shurugwi

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 Shurugwi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 100%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $900 in Shurugwi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $600 in Shurugwi. That makes Shurugwi about 50% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $419 in Shurugwi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Shurugwi, where all-in costs run around $600, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Shurugwi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $600 in Shurugwi to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.