Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sighetu Marmatiei

For one person, living is cheaper in Sighetu Marmatiei: $958 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Sighetu Marmatiei
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Sighetu Marmatiei Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sighetu Marmatiei

🇷🇴 Romania

$958

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Sighetu Marmatiei

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $958 in Sighetu Marmatiei, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sighetu Marmatiei $958

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,401 in Sighetu Marmatiei, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sighetu Marmatiei $1,401

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,843 in Sighetu Marmatiei, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sighetu Marmatiei $1,843

Playa del Carmen costs about 26% more than Sighetu Marmatiei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sighetu Marmatiei are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sighetu Marmatiei 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$8.62 RON 41.42

26.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$20.80 RON 100.0

108.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.31 RON 35.14

61.15%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.68 RON 12.89

42.16%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.84 RON 8.86

-30.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.77 RON 8.51

-55.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.06 RON 9.89

53.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.15 RON 15.12

56.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.44 RON 6.92

-2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.01 RON 4.87

119.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.20 RON 5.77

18.33%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.83 RON 13.61

-10.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.02 RON 38.54

-9.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.34 RON 30.45

21.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.18 RON 44.10

38.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.12 RON 5.38

148.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.49 RON 7.16

-8.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.49 RON 7.17

71.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.36 RON 6.56

55.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.86 RON 4.16

125.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.95 RON 4.57

98.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.69 RON 3.32

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.84 RON 4.01

40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$5.46 RON 26.23

-21.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.77 RON 27.73

72.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.03 RON 4.95

53.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.76 RON 8.44

51.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.76 RON 3.64

-27.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$21.76 RON 105

22.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.72 RON 3.45

590.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.77 RON 3.69

332.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.41 RON 35.63

-27.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.73 RON 8.31

-16.76%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$29.0K RON 139.3K

-28.69%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$25.5K RON 122.5K

-7.93%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$138 RON 663

-38.50%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$6.50 RON 31.22

260.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$7.73 RON 37.13

270.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$38.48 RON 185

48.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$20.29 RON 97.5

42.48%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.31 RON 20.73

19.26%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$396 RON 1,904

-47.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,844 RON 42.5K

-55.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$59.9 RON 288

-27.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$37.56 RON 180

10.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$54.8 RON 263

35.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$63.4 RON 305

40.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$378 RON 1,818

159.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$290 RON 1,392

31.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$602 RON 2,893

183.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$441 RON 2,120

143.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,865 RON 8,961

111.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,333 RON 6,404

362.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$522 RON 2,510

40.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.1

61.27%

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 Sighetu Marmatiei: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$290 30.2% 24% $91

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$189 19.7% 25.9% $66

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$154 16.1% 23.8% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$152 15.9% 11.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$97 10.1% 13.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$47 4.9% 30% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$29 3.1% 41.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $378 in Sighetu Marmatiei. 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 41% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $21 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $189 – making Sighetu Marmatiei the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Sighetu Marmatiei

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

18:59 6:59 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

37,640

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sighetu Marmatiei 9,770 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sighetu Marmatiei

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 Sighetu Marmatiei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 26%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,437 in Sighetu Marmatiei. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sighetu Marmatiei, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $378 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $958 in Sighetu Marmatiei. That’s a gap of about 26%.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Sighetu Marmatiei. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Sighetu Marmatiei, where all-in costs run around $958, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Sighetu Marmatiei 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 $958 in Sighetu Marmatiei to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Sighetu Marmatiei. 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.