Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sosua

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,424 in Sosua, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sosua outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Sosua
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Sosua Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sosua

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,424

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,424 in Sosua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sosua $1,424

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,228 in Sosua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sosua $2,228

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,033 in Sosua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sosua $3,033

Playa del Carmen is about 15% cheaper than Sosua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Sosua is 5% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$9.80 DOP 591

11.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$49.65 DOP 2,996

-12.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.26 DOP 438

62.26%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.26 DOP 136

68.58%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.01 DOP 61.1

26.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.55 DOP 33.07

41.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.41 DOP 146

31.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.27 DOP 198

50.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.32 DOP 79.6

6.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.50 DOP 90.3

48.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.63 DOP 38.25

125.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.99 DOP 120

26.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.22 DOP 436

0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$5.63 DOP 339

36.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$6.46 DOP 390

96.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.03 DOP 183

-8.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$0.76 DOP 45.88

80.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.64 DOP 159

-3.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.23 DOP 74.2

72.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.74 DOP 105

11.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.24 DOP 135

-15.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.68 DOP 40.90

69.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.40 DOP 24.01

195.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$5.33 DOP 322

-19.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.30 DOP 621

-3.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.49 DOP 150

-36.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.31 DOP 139

15.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.21 DOP 194

54.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.16 DOP 131

54.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$5.89 DOP 355

-9.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.26 DOP 76.3

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$28.6K DOP 1.7M

-27.72%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$34.4K DOP 2.1M

-31.69%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$65.5 DOP 3,953

29.47%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$27.83 DOP 1,680

-15.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$32.55 DOP 1,964

-11.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$7.30 DOP 441

-29.59%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$245 DOP 14.8K

-15.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$7,347 DOP 443.4K

-46.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$45.48 DOP 2,745

-4.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$45.68 DOP 2,757

-9.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$84.7 DOP 5,109

-12.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$125 DOP 7,544

-28.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$851 DOP 51.4K

15.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$783 DOP 47.2K

-51.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,722 DOP 103.9K

-0.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,511 DOP 91.2K

-28.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,828 DOP 110.3K

115.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,705 DOP 102.9K

261.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

13.56

-15.56%

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 Sosua: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sosua

$783 55% 106% $402

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sosua

$199 14% 21.9% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sosua

$152 10.7% 24.8% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sosua

$126 8.8% 8% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sosua

$135 9.5% 21.2% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sosua

$15 * 1% 78.3% $53

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sosua

$14 * 1% 72.2% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $851 in Sosua. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $50 in Sosua. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $199 in Sosua – so Sosua wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇴 Sosua

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

04:32 4:32 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,713

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 60.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sosua 1,730 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sosua

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 Sosua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sosua is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,136 in Sosua. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sosua, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $851 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,424 in Sosua. That makes Playa del Carmen about 15% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $245 in Sosua. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,424 in Sosua. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.