Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Targu Frumos

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Frumos: $1,001 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Targu Frumos
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Targu Frumos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Targu Frumos

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,001

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Targu Frumos

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,001 in Targu Frumos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Targu Frumos $1,001

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,527 in Targu Frumos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Targu Frumos $1,527

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,053 in Targu Frumos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Targu Frumos $2,053

Playa del Carmen costs about 20% more than Targu Frumos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Targu Frumos are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Targu Frumos 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$10.73 RON 51.5

1.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$41.38 RON 198

4.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.43 RON 35.62

58.55%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.42 RON 11.59

57.44%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.10 RON 10.07

-39.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.87 RON 8.99

-58.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.05 RON 9.85

54.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.21 RON 15.39

53.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.18 RON 5.64

19.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$0.71 RON 3.38

212.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.72 RON 8.25

-17.44%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.37 RON 16.17

-25.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.75 RON 37.17

-6.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.95 RON 28.55

29.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$8.22 RON 39.44

54.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.30 RON 6.23

113.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.59 RON 7.60

-13.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.59 RON 7.60

60.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.77 RON 8.49

19.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.95 RON 4.54

104.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.01 RON 4.84

87.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.80 RON 3.84

43.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.69 RON 3.31

71.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$5.88 RON 28.20

-26.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.17 RON 24.80

92.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$0.93 RON 4.48

69.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.22 RON 5.86

118.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.72 RON 3.45

-23.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$21.53 RON 103

23.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.61 RON 2.91

714.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.64 RON 3.08

420.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.93 RON 33.21

-22.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.80 RON 8.65

-20.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$28.1K RON 134.8K

-26.49%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$25.1K RON 120.3K

-6.46%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$148 RON 712

-42.88%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.74 RON 37.12

202.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$7.74 RON 37.13

270.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.80 RON 181

50.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$20.56 RON 98.6

40.61%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$6.18 RON 29.64

-16.83%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$589 RON 2,827

-64.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$4,907 RON 23.5K

-19.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$97.0 RON 465

-55.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$32.37 RON 155

28.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$61.4 RON 294

20.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$84.1 RON 403

6.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$387 RON 1,856

153.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$283 RON 1,359

34.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$589 RON 2,825

189.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$450 RON 2,159

138.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,817 RON 8,715

116.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,363 RON 6,537

351.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 Targu Frumos: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Targu Frumos

$283 28.3% 25.6% $97

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Targu Frumos

$182 18.2% 28.6% $73

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Targu Frumos

$170 17% 16.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Targu Frumos

$164 16.4% 19.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Targu Frumos

$124 12.4% 10.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Targu Frumos

$50 5% 25.5% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Targu Frumos

$28 2.8% 44.1% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $387 in Targu Frumos. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $41 in Targu Frumos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $182 – making Targu Frumos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇷🇴 Targu Frumos

🕒 Local time

20:30 8:30 PM

03:30 3:30 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,875

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.8 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Targu Frumos 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Targu Frumos

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 Targu Frumos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 20%, 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 $1,502 in Targu Frumos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Targu Frumos, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $387 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,001 in Targu Frumos. That makes Targu Frumos about 17% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 19% less in Targu Frumos. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,001 in Targu Frumos, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,001 in Targu Frumos to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Targu Frumos is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 17% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.