Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Surat

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat: $799 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Surat
Learn more

Surat Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Surat

🇮🇳 India

$799

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $799 in Surat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Surat $799

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $853 in Surat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Surat $853

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $906 in Surat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Surat $906

Playa del Carmen costs about 51% more than Surat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Surat are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Surat 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.14 ₹298

247.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$10.59 ₹1,005

309.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$3.22 ₹305

265.84%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$1.76 ₹167

116.48%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.39 ₹37.11

228.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.14 ₹13.58

457.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$3.21 ₹305

-1.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$3.39 ₹322

45.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$0.72 ₹68.1

95.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.46 ₹43.76

382.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$0.72 ₹68.5

97.22%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$0.90 ₹85.5

180.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$4.63 ₹439

56.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$2.74 ₹260

181.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.67 ₹158

66.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$0.57 ₹54.5

140.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$0.76 ₹71.9

235.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$0.55 ₹52.1

285.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.39 ₹36.76

397.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.43 ₹40.97

339.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.46 ₹44.13

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.30 ₹28.03

293.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$4.94 ₹469

-12.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$7.81 ₹741

27.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.86 ₹177

-15.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$3.05 ₹289

-12.46%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.18 ₹587

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.20 ₹18.97

175.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$3.21 ₹305

729.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$0.56 ₹53.5

787.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.22 ₹20.89

1413.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$1.08 ₹102

396.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.13 ₹108

27.43%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$11.4K ₹1.1M

81.74%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$18.3K ₹1.7M

28.05%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$36.87 ₹3,499

129.97%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$3.56 ₹337

557.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$7.44 ₹706

285.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$18.56 ₹1,761

207.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$5.45 ₹517

430.46%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$2.98 ₹283

72.48%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$32.79 ₹3,112

529.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$937 ₹88.9K

319.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$22.65 ₹2,150

91.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$24.76 ₹2,349

67.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$40.73 ₹3,865

82.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$32.31 ₹3,067

176.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$208 ₹19.7K

370.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$484 ₹45.9K

-21.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$387 ₹36.7K

341.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$241 ₹22.9K

345.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$645 ₹61.2K

511.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$364 ₹34.5K

1593.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$319 ₹30.3K

130.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.17

24.86%

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 Surat: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Surat

$484 60.6% 27.1% $103

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Surat

$102 12.8% 60% $153

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Surat

$81 10.1% 60.1% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Surat

$48 6% 65% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Surat

$54 6.8% 51.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Surat

$25 3.1% 63.6% $43

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Surat

$5.7 0.7% 88.7% $45

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $208 in Surat. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $11 in Surat. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $102 – making Surat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇳 Surat

🕒 Local time

08:55 8:55 AM

19:25 7:25 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

6,936,534

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.54 USD

1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 94.9 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Surat 14,880 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Surat

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 Surat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 51%, 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 $1,199 in Surat. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Surat, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $208 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $799 in Surat. That makes Surat about 34% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 88% less in Surat. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Surat, where all-in costs run around $799, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Surat it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Surat. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.