Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sliven

For one person, living is cheaper in Sliven: $779 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Sliven
Learn more

Sliven Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sliven

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $779 in Sliven, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sliven $779

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,232 in Sliven, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Sliven $1,232

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,684 in Sliven, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Sliven $1,684

Playa del Carmen costs about 55% more than Sliven, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sliven are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Sliven 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$11.37 BGN 19.78

-4.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$35.06 BGN 61.0

26.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.19 BGN 17.74

15.41%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.79 BGN 3.11

105.59%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.25 BGN 2.17

7.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.88 BGN 1.53

-6.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.71 BGN 2.97

78.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.36 BGN 4.10

109.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-5.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.79 BGN 1.37

181.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.58 BGN 4.49

-42.64%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.09 BGN 3.63

19.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$8.12 BGN 14.12

-7.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$5.50 BGN 9.57

44.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$6.67 BGN 11.61

88.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.47 BGN 2.56

89.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.65 BGN 2.88

-13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.45 BGN 2.52

80.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.16 BGN 3.77

-0.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.51 BGN 0.88

296.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.88 BGN 1.53

126.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.02 BGN 1.77

11.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.48 BGN 0.83

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.49 BGN 6.08

22.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$6.14 BGN 10.68

63.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.01 BGN 1.77

52.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.27 BGN 2.21

109.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.70 BGN 1.22

-24.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$34.80 BGN 60.6

-20.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.12 BGN 1.96

337.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.59 BGN 1.03

481.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.71 BGN 15.16

-38.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.53 BGN 2.66

-5.23%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$30.3K BGN 52.7K

-30.13%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$22.2K BGN 38.6K

3.68%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$86.7 BGN 151

-1.55%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$20.37 BGN 35.44

15.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$9.44 BGN 16.43

201.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$23.32 BGN 40.58

166.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.80 BGN 10.09

-12.07%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$508 BGN 885

-60.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$6,395 BGN 11.1K

-38.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$58.1 BGN 101

-23.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$22.56 BGN 39.25

83.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$69.1 BGN 120

5.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$61.6 BGN 107

45.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$231 BGN 402

324.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$146 BGN 253

156.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$329 BGN 572

411.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$254 BGN 441

331.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,147 BGN 1,996

244.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$915 BGN 1,593

570.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$1,325 BGN 2,306

-44.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.82

306.03%

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 Sliven: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Sliven

$146 18.7% 61% $227

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Sliven

$181 23.2% 30% $78

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Sliven

$165 21.1% 17.7% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sliven

$117 15% 15.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sliven

$95 12.2% 14.9% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Sliven

$35 4.5% 51.8% $37

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Sliven

$42 5.4% 19.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $231 in Sliven. 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 80% higher in Sliven, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $35.00 in Sliven. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $181 – making Sliven the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇬 Sliven

🕒 Local time

03:10 3:10 AM

10:10 10:10 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

95,806

💱 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 25, 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 25, 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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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sliven 10,230 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sliven

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 Sliven: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 55%, 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 $1,169 in Sliven. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sliven, 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 $779 in Sliven. That's a gap of about 55%.

Public transport costs about 26% less in Sliven. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Sliven, where all-in costs run around $779, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Sliven it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sliven – 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 Sliven. 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.