Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tacloban

For one person, living is cheaper in Tacloban: $771 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Other living expenses 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 Tacloban
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Tacloban Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Tacloban

🇵🇭 Philippines

$771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $771 in Tacloban, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Tacloban $771

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,152 in Tacloban, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Tacloban $1,152

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,532 in Tacloban, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Tacloban $1,532

Playa del Carmen costs about 56% more than Tacloban, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tacloban are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Tacloban 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.00 ₱255

173.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$15.55 ₱990

178.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$2.33 ₱148

405.58%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.31 ₱147

64.94%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.68 ₱43.43

88.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.36 ₱23.14

116.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.59 ₱101

99.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.17 ₱138

127.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.91 ₱122

-26.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.11 ₱70.4

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.80 ₱51.0

77.50%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.89 ₱121

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$10.05 ₱640

-27.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.11 ₱262

87.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$7.18 ₱457

76.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.18 ₱202

-12.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.08 ₱68.6

26.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.28 ₱145

11.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.46 ₱93.0

45.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$2.30 ₱146

-15.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.85 ₱118

2.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.09 ₱69.5

5.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.60 ₱38.13

96.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$1.86 ₱118

131.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$6.30 ₱401

57.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.07 ₱68.2

47.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.72 ₱109

55.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.20 ₱12.78

175.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$12.30 ₱783

116.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.78 ₱49.73

537.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.22 ₱14.03

1413.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.86 ₱119

188.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.04 ₱66.0

38.46%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$21.2K ₱1.4M

-2.74%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$18.8K ₱1.2M

24.59%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$117 ₱7,461

-27.62%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$15.64 ₱996

49.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$28.34 ₱1,805

1.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$31.68 ₱2,018

80.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$5.30 ₱338

445.47%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.36 ₱341

-4.10%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$131 ₱8,331

57.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$7,929 ₱505.0K

-50.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$32.33 ₱2,059

34.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$19.29 ₱1,229

114.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$76.5 ₱4,873

-3.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$56.0 ₱3,566

59.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$254 ₱16.2K

285.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$191 ₱12.2K

98.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$498 ₱31.7K

242.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$348 ₱22.1K

209.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,586 ₱164.7K

52.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,114 ₱70.9K

452.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$340 ₱21.7K

116.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.2

59.03%

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 Tacloban: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Tacloban

$191 24.8% 49.7% $189

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Tacloban

$195 25.3% 23.3% $59

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Tacloban

$83 10.8% 58.9% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Tacloban

$161 20.9% 17.7% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Tacloban

$83 10.7% 25.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Tacloban

$42 5.5% 37% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Tacloban

$15 1.9% 70.3% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $254 in Tacloban. 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 2.2 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 $16 in Tacloban. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $195 – making Tacloban the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇭 Tacloban

🕒 Local time

21:43 9:43 PM

10:43 10:43 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

242,089

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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 = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.12 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Tacloban 15,030 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tacloban

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 Tacloban: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,157 in Tacloban. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tacloban, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $254 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $771 in Tacloban. That makes Tacloban about 36% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 54% less in Tacloban. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Families tend to lean toward Tacloban – 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 Tacloban. 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.