Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tesanj

For one person, living is cheaper in Tesanj: $869 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Tesanj
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Tesanj Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Tesanj

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$869

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $869 in Tesanj, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Tesanj $869

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,284 in Tesanj, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Tesanj $1,284

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,699 in Tesanj, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Tesanj $1,699

Playa del Carmen costs about 39% more than Tesanj, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tesanj are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Tesanj 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$3.49 BAM 6.09

211.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$824

$16.11 BAM 28.10

174.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$219

$2.94 BAM 5.13

300.00%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.6

$0.89 BAM 1.55

313.48%

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

$1.34 MX$25.01

$1.40 BAM 2.45

-4.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.38

$0.90 BAM 1.57

-8.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.1

$1.96 BAM 3.41

56.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.1

$1.70 BAM 2.96

190.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.41

$0.82 BAM 1.43

79.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.32

$0.88 BAM 1.53

152.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.57

$2.44 BAM 4.26

-39.34%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.41

$3.03 BAM 5.29

-17.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$9.94 BAM 17.34

-24.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$148

$7.41 BAM 12.93

7.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$14.14 BAM 24.67

-11.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$1.13 BAM 1.97

146.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.61

$1.61 BAM 2.81

-11.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.81

$1.42 BAM 2.47

84.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.85

$1.60 BAM 2.79

33.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.72

$0.99 BAM 1.73

104.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.08

$1.06 BAM 1.85

87.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.20

$1.13 BAM 1.97

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.38

$0.93 BAM 1.63

29.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.4

$3.93 BAM 6.86

8.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$8.60 BAM 15.00

16.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.67

$1.11 BAM 1.94

38.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.62

$1.32 BAM 2.30

101.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.82

$1.30 BAM 2.27

-59.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$513

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.4

$1.11 BAM 1.93

341.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.1

$0.56 BAM 0.97

512.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$100

$10.24 BAM 17.87

-47.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.00

$1.52 BAM 2.66

-4.61%

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

$21.2K MX$394.5K

$31.0K BAM 54.0K

-31.64%

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

$23.0K MX$429.2K

$21.8K BAM 38.0K

5.78%

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

$85.4 MX$1,592

$91.4 BAM 159

-6.63%

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

$23.46 MX$438

$18.51 BAM 32.29

26.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$530

$28.34 BAM 49.44

0.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,160

$32.73 BAM 57.1

90.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$535

$28.51 BAM 49.73

0.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.2

$2.88 BAM 5.02

77.08%

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

$201 MX$3,749

$135 BAM 235

49.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.6K

$3,917 BAM 6,833

0.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$828

$57.7 BAM 101

-23.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$771

$32.02 BAM 55.9

29.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,356

$94.0 BAM 164

-22.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,671

$131 BAM 229

-31.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$345 BAM 602

183.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,950

$248 BAM 433

50.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.3K

$519 BAM 906

223.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.4K

$366 BAM 639

198.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.6K

$2,462 BAM 4,296

60.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.4K

$1,757 BAM 3,065

249.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

$686 BAM 1,197

7.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.3

166.28%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Tesanj: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Tesanj

$248 28.6% 33.5% $125

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Tesanj

$223 25.7% 13.6% $35

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Tesanj

$70 8% 65.1% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Tesanj

$138 15.9% 0.8% $1

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Tesanj

$142 16.3% 26.8% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Tesanj

$38 4.4% 46.8% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Tesanj

$9.1 * 1.1% 82.4% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $345 in Tesanj. 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 7% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $16 in Tesanj. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $223 – making Tesanj the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇦 Tesanj

🕒 Local time

21:40 9:40 PM

03:40 3:40 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.65 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.89 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Tesanj 9,530 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tesanj

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 Tesanj: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 39%, 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 $1,303 in Tesanj. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tesanj, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $345 there versus $979 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $869 in Tesanj. That’s a gap of about 39%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $135 in Tesanj. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Tesanj, where all-in costs run around $869, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Tesanj it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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