Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and St Francis Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in St Francis Bay

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 St Francis Bay actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $979 in St Francis Bay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
St Francis Bay $979

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,629 in St Francis Bay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
St Francis Bay $1,629

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,279 in St Francis Bay, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
St Francis Bay $2,279

Playa del Carmen costs about 23% more than St Francis Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and St Francis Bay are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, St Francis Bay 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$10.81 R 177

-1.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$41.74 R 685

4.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$3.53 R 58.0

233.99%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.14 R 35.06

77.10%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.01 R 16.62

28.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.72 R 11.89

15.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.06 R 33.72

52.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.84 R 30.24

167.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.94 R 15.43

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.00 R 16.33

120.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.50 R 24.64

-2.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.70 R 44.32

-7.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.11 R 117

2.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.22 R 85.7

52.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$8.63 R 142

49.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.18 R 35.71

33.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.46 R 23.93

-5.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.70 R 27.96

46.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.81 R 29.62

12.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.74 R 28.48

16.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.37 R 22.56

38.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.24 R 20.29

-8.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.03 R 16.84

20.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.14 R 51.5

35.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$4.74 R 77.7

106.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.27 R 20.84

25.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.81 R 29.72

51.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.78 R 29.16

-71.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.82 R 13.44

480.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.46 R 7.51

606.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.62 R 141

-37.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.31 R 21.44

16.79%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.0K R 344.6K

1.00%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$35.2K R 577.0K

-33.85%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$60.8 R 997

37.43%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$34.39 R 564

-32.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$41.35 R 679

-33.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$28.64 R 470

97.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$12.00 R 197

134.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.20 R 151

-45.65%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$179 R 2,934

15.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$6,135 R 100.7K

-14.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$71.9 R 1,179

-39.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$39.31 R 645

8.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$112 R 1,842

-35.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$95.1 R 1,560

-7.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$420 R 6,891

136.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$308 R 5,056

24.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$834 R 13.7K

100.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$711 R 11.7K

52.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$784 R 12.9K

398.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$648 R 10.6K

847.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.94

-4.10%

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 St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5% 19.4% $74

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4% 26.3% $68

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7% 28.3% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

St Francis Bay

$136 14% 1.6% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7% 28.9% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8% 29.2% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1% 79.7% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $420 in St Francis Bay. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $42 in St Francis Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $190 – making St Francis Bay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🕒 Local time

04:20 4:20 AM

11:20 11:20 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,910

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen St Francis Bay 13,250 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
St Francis Bay

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 St Francis Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 23%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,468 in St Francis Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in St Francis Bay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $420 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $979 in St Francis Bay. That makes St Francis Bay about 19% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $179 in St Francis Bay. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in St Francis Bay, where all-in costs run around $979, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In St Francis Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward St Francis Bay – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.