Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Surfers Paradise

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,824 in Surfers Paradise, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
136

Cost of Living Index in Surfers Paradise
Learn more

Surfers Paradise Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Surfers Paradise

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,824

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Surfers Paradise

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,824 in Surfers Paradise, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Surfers Paradise $2,824

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,398 in Surfers Paradise, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Surfers Paradise $4,398

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,973 in Surfers Paradise, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Surfers Paradise $5,973

Playa del Carmen is about 57% cheaper than Surfers Paradise, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Surfers Paradise is 109% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$17.36 A$24.99

-38.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$105 A$151

-58.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$10.85 A$15.62

8.66%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.10 A$5.90

-5.61%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.81 A$4.05

-51.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$2.40 A$3.46

-65.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$7.86 A$11.31

-60.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$7.87 A$11.32

-35.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.66 A$2.40

-13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.70 A$3.89

-17.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.41 A$3.46

-39.00%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.90 A$7.05

-48.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.68 A$12.49

-15.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.09 A$13.07

-13.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.47 A$20.83

-11.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.92 A$5.65

-26.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$3.08 A$4.43

-53.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$3.37 A$4.85

-24.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$4.84 A$6.97

-57.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.82 A$4.06

-29.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.44 A$3.50

-17.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$2.39 A$3.44

-50.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$2.07 A$2.98

-39.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$37.58 A$54.1

-88.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$14.26 A$20.52

-32.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$5.97 A$8.59

-73.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$5.12 A$7.36

-45.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.34 A$0.49

67.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.10 A$3.02

137.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.62 A$2.33

116.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$35.24 A$50.7

-84.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.30 A$1.86

13.08%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$27.0K A$38.9K

-22.36%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$28.3K A$40.8K

-15.67%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$212 A$305

-60.33%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$29.92 A$43.06

-19.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$55.4 A$79.8

-47.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$66.1 A$95.1

-4.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$14.45 A$20.80

101.66%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$17.42 A$25.06

-71.64%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$1,944 A$2,798

-89.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$12.4K A$17.8K

-68.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$83.1 A$120

-47.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$55.1 A$79.2

-21.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$111 A$160

-31.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$121 A$175

-26.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,912 A$2,752

-47.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$1,570 A$2,260

-76.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$3,770 A$5,425

-54.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$3,067 A$4,413

-63.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$5,895 A$8,483

-33.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$4,954 A$7,128

24.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$3,288 A$4,731

-77.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.81

97.07%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Surfers Paradise: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Surfers Paradise

$1.6K 55.6% 320% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Surfers Paradise

$380 13.5% 47% $121

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Surfers Paradise

$297 10.5% 46.6% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Surfers Paradise

$298 10.5% 117% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Surfers Paradise

$167 5.9% 47.5% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Surfers Paradise

$101 3.6% 38.4% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Surfers Paradise

$12 * 0.4% 78% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,912 in Surfers Paradise. 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 336% higher in Surfers Paradise, 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $105 in Surfers Paradise. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $380 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇺 Surfers Paradise

🕒 Local time

12:56 12:56 PM

03:56 3:56 AM

15 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

19,668

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Surfers Paradise 13,890 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Surfers Paradise

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 Surfers Paradise: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Surfers Paradise is pricier by about 133%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,235 in Surfers Paradise. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $2,824 in Surfers Paradise. That's a gap of about 133%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,944 in Surfers Paradise. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Surfers Paradise at $2,824. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Surfers Paradise it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – 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 Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Surfers Paradise makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.