Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tembisa

For one person, living is cheaper in Tembisa: $1,105 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Tembisa
Learn more

Tembisa Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Tembisa

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,105 in Tembisa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Tembisa $1,105

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,734 in Tembisa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Tembisa $1,734

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,363 in Tembisa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Tembisa $2,363

Playa del Carmen costs about 9% more than Tembisa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tembisa are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Tembisa 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$9.69 R 161

12.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$39.77 R 663

9.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$5.82 R 97.0

102.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.31 R 38.53

64.94%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.10 R 18.29

16.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.83 R 13.79

-6.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.41 R 40.12

31.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.80 R 46.70

76.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.17 R 19.53

20.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.10 R 18.37

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.82 R 30.35

-21.98%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.54 R 42.40

-0.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.39 R 140

-13.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.91 R 81.9

56.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.19 R 120

76.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.81 R 30.09

53.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.69 R 28.11

-18.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.73 R 28.76

47.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.66 R 27.71

27.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.46 R 24.26

32.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.45 R 24.12

30.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.24 R 20.62

-7.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.16 R 19.41

1.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.33 R 55.4

29.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.03 R 83.8

97.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.39 R 23.20

13.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.97 R 32.84

35.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.56 R 26.03

-64.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.64 R 10.61

676.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.93 R 15.53

258.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$11.73 R 195

-54.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.48 R 24.63

-2.70%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$36.3K R 604.7K

-43.05%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$33.3K R 554.9K

-29.53%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$149 R 2,479

-43.00%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$35.37 R 589

-33.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$37.16 R 619

-22.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$32.03 R 534

78.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$10.74 R 179

169.18%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$7.37 R 123

-30.26%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$247 R 4,116

-16.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,513 R 91.9K

-28.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$54.4 R 906

-20.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$33.07 R 551

25.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$101 R 1,687

-26.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$89.2 R 1,486

0.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$392 R 6,537

149.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$359 R 5,987

5.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$746 R 12.4K

129.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$753 R 12.5K

42.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$877 R 14.6K

349.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$682 R 11.4K

802.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$566 R 9,430

29.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.94

4.66%

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 Tembisa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Tembisa

$359 32.5% 5.7% $22

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Tembisa

$193 17.5% 24.2% $62

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Tembisa

$148 13.4% 26.8% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Tembisa

$221 20% 61.7% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Tembisa

$125 11.3% 12% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Tembisa

$47 4.2% 30.5% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Tembisa

$12 * 1% 77.1% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $392 in Tembisa. 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 30% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $40 in Tembisa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $193 – making Tembisa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇿🇦 Tembisa

🕒 Local time

16:20 4:20 PM

23:20 11:20 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

463,109

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Tembisa 13,440 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tembisa

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 Tembisa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 9%, 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 $1,658 in Tembisa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tembisa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $392 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,105 in Tembisa. That makes Tembisa about 8% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $247 in Tembisa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,105 in Tembisa, 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 $1,105 in Tembisa to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Tembisa. 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.