Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tacarigua

For one person, living is cheaper in Tacarigua: $765 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Tacarigua
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Tacarigua Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Tacarigua

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $765 in Tacarigua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Tacarigua $765

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,312 in Tacarigua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Tacarigua $1,312

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,858 in Tacarigua, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Tacarigua $1,858

Playa del Carmen costs about 57% more than Tacarigua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tacarigua are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Tacarigua 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$10.18 TTD 68.3

7.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$59.2 TTD 397

-26.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.93 TTD 53.2

48.55%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.76 TTD 25.23

1.33%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.99 TTD 6.66

29.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.72 TTD 4.85

8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.89 TTD 12.68

67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.55 TTD 17.12

93.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.97 TTD 13.25

-28.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.28 TTD 15.27

-2.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$2.79 TTD 18.75

-49.10%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.85 TTD 25.84

-34.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$6.61 TTD 44.35

9.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$10.11 TTD 67.8

-23.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$8.99 TTD 60.3

41.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$5.39 TTD 36.20

-48.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.47 TTD 16.58

-44.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$3.61 TTD 24.19

-29.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$4.22 TTD 28.30

-49.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.71 TTD 4.79

173.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.76 TTD 5.11

148.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.49 TTD 10.02

-22.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.15 TTD 7.69

2.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$5.50 TTD 36.91

-21.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$17.42 TTD 117

-42.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.51 TTD 10.11

4.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.97 TTD 19.95

-10.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$0.86 TTD 5.78

477.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.93 TTD 6.25

258.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$14.51 TTD 97.4

-63.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.16 TTD 7.76

24.14%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$36.3K TTD 243.6K

-43.08%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$41.0K TTD 274.9K

-42.73%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$44.88 TTD 301

88.93%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$41.74 TTD 280

-43.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$44.94 TTD 302

-36.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$9.09 TTD 61.0

-43.45%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$406 TTD 2,725

-49.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$11.0K TTD 73.9K

-64.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$55.4 TTD 372

-21.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$37.45 TTD 251

10.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$89.9 TTD 603

-17.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$89.9 TTD 603

-0.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.75

99.13%

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 Tacarigua: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Tacarigua

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Tacarigua

$315 41.2% 23.8% $61

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Tacarigua

$172 22.5% 15.1% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Tacarigua

$132 17.2% 3.9% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Tacarigua

$123 16% 9.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Tacarigua

$18 * 2.4% 73% $49

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Tacarigua

$5.5 * 0.7% 89.1% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $59 in Tacarigua. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $315 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇹 Tacarigua

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

23:26 11:26 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,067

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Tacarigua 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tacarigua

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 Tacarigua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 57%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,148 in Tacarigua. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $765 in Tacarigua. That makes Tacarigua about 36% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $406 in Tacarigua. 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 Tacarigua, where all-in costs run around $765, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Tacarigua it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $765 in Tacarigua to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.