Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Silistra

For one person, living is cheaper in Silistra: $858 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Silistra
Learn more

Silistra Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Silistra

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$858

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $858 in Silistra, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Silistra $858

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,223 in Silistra, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Silistra $1,223

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,589 in Silistra, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Silistra $1,589

Playa del Carmen costs about 40% more than Silistra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Silistra are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Silistra 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$10.13 BGN 17.62

7.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$24.96 BGN 43.43

77.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.75 BGN 15.22

34.40%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.66 BGN 2.89

121.69%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.11 BGN 1.93

20.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.79 BGN 1.38

3.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.83 BGN 3.19

67.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.00 BGN 3.48

147.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.71 BGN 2.98

-14.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.81 BGN 1.42

174.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.49 BGN 2.59

-0.67%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.35 BGN 4.10

5.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$9.41 BGN 16.37

-20.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$6.36 BGN 11.07

25.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$8.31 BGN 14.46

51.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.25 BGN 2.17

122.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.71 BGN 2.97

-16.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.68 BGN 2.92

55.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.97 BGN 3.42

8.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.96 BGN 1.66

110.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.71 BGN 1.23

180.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.56 BGN 0.97

103.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.67 BGN 1.17

79.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.64 BGN 6.33

17.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$5.16 BGN 8.98

94.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.08 BGN 1.87

42.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.69 BGN 2.94

57.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.83 BGN 1.44

-36.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$23.87 BGN 41.54

15.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.16 BGN 2.03

322.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.65 BGN 1.13

427.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$5.61 BGN 9.76

-4.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.42 BGN 2.47

2.11%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$30.3K BGN 52.6K

-30.07%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$21.8K BGN 37.9K

5.66%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$92.5 BGN 161

-7.76%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$14.56 BGN 25.33

61.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$12.13 BGN 21.10

134.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$31.10 BGN 54.1

99.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$17.20 BGN 29.93

66.74%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.66 BGN 11.58

-23.42%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$232 BGN 404

-13.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$2,274 BGN 3,958

73.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$30.97 BGN 53.9

43.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$19.44 BGN 33.83

112.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$63.3 BGN 110

14.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$52.0 BGN 90.5

72.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$332 BGN 578

194.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$248 BGN 431

50.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$333 BGN 580

404.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$243 BGN 423

350.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,304 BGN 2,268

202.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,082 BGN 1,883

467.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$720 BGN 1,252

2.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.99

282.94%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Silistra: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Silistra

$248 28.9% 33.6% $125

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Silistra

$192 22.4% 25.6% $66

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Silistra

$148 17.3% 26.1% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Silistra

$119 13.9% 13.1% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Silistra

$75 8.7% 33.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Silistra

$44 5.2% 38.7% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Silistra

$32 3.7% 38.8% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $332 in Silistra. 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 2% 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $25.00 in Silistra. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $192 – making Silistra the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇬 Silistra

🕒 Local time

08:23 8:23 AM

16:23 4:23 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

37,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Silistra 10,210 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Silistra

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 Silistra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 40%, 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 $1,287 in Silistra. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Silistra, 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $858 in Silistra. That's a gap of about 40%.

Public transport costs about 15% less in Silistra. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Silistra, where all-in costs run around $858, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Silistra it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Silistra – 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 Silistra. 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.