Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Todos Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,418 in Todos Santos, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Todos Santos outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Todos Santos
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Todos Santos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Todos Santos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Todos Santos

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,418 in Todos Santos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Todos Santos $1,418

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,111 in Todos Santos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Todos Santos $2,111

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,804 in Todos Santos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Todos Santos $2,804

Playa del Carmen is about 15% cheaper than Todos Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Todos Santos is 4% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$10.71 MX$201

1.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$42.31 MX$793

2.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.69 MX$163

35.56%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.59 MX$67.2

6.13%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.35 MX$25.22

-5.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.99 MX$18.57

-21.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.48 MX$46.51

27.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$4.00 MX$75.0

23.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.58 MX$29.55

-10.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$2.62 MX$49.09

-15.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.52 MX$28.53

-6.58%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$2.47 MX$46.33

2.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$9.14 MX$171

-20.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$9.37 MX$176

-17.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.16 MX$228

4.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$2.73 MX$51.2

1.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.48 MX$27.75

-7.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.94 MX$36.36

31.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.76 MX$33.06

20.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.97 MX$36.99

-1.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.88 MX$35.18

0.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.46 MX$27.29

-21.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$1.07 MX$20.09

10.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$4.19 MX$78.5

2.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$10.10 MX$189

-1.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.74 MX$32.61

-9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$3.17 MX$59.4

-15.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.74 MX$13.96

-25.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$26.19 MX$491

1.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$2.48 MX$46.42

100.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.99 MX$37.23

67.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$12.34 MX$231

-56.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.24 MX$23.17

16.13%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$22.4K MX$420.3K

-7.85%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$25.9K MX$484.9K

-9.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$56.3 MX$1,055

50.60%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$22.51 MX$422

4.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$28.54 MX$535

0.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$34.45 MX$646

65.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$20.43 MX$383

41.51%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$4.75 MX$89.1

8.21%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$193 MX$3,609

7.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$4,019 MX$75.3K

-2.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$47.93 MX$898

-9.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$45.84 MX$859

-9.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$90.5 MX$1,696

-18.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$101 MX$1,892

-11.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$988 MX$18.5K

-0.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$640 MX$12.0K

-40.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$1,866 MX$35.0K

-8.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$987 MX$18.5K

8.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$2,144 MX$40.2K

83.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,181 MX$22.1K

421.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.31

1.24%

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 Todos Santos: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Todos Santos

$640 45.2% 68.1% $259

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Todos Santos

$271 19.2% 6.5% $17

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Todos Santos

$185 13% 8.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Todos Santos

$107 7.6% 21.6% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Todos Santos

$128 9.1% 14.9% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Todos Santos

$44 3.1% 34.7% $23

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Todos Santos

$42 2.9% 17.6% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $988 in Todos Santos. 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 $42 in Todos Santos. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $271 in Todos Santos – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Todos Santos

🕒 Local time

23:08 11:08 PM

21:08 9:08 PM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

5,148

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Todos Santos 2,400 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Todos Santos

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 Todos Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Todos Santos is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,126 in Todos Santos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $980 in Playa del Carmen and $988 in Todos Santos. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Groceries cost about 7% more in Todos Santos, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $193 in Todos Santos. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,418 in Todos Santos. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.