Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Turrialba

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,726 in Turrialba, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Turrialba
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Turrialba Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Turrialba

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,726 in Turrialba, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Turrialba $1,726

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,753 in Turrialba, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Turrialba $2,753

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,779 in Turrialba, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Turrialba $3,779

Playa del Carmen is about 30% cheaper than Turrialba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Turrialba is 27% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$11.97 ₡5,370

-9.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$60.9 ₡27.3K

-27.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$11.78 ₡5,283

-0.17%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.34 ₡1,946

-15.21%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.75 ₡1,233

-51.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.94 ₡871

-57.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.32 ₡1,488

-7.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.40 ₡1,973

12.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.35 ₡1,052

-37.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$3.06 ₡1,372

-27.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.53 ₡1,134

-41.50%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.60 ₡1,612

-30.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.54 ₡4,726

-28.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$10.32 ₡4,630

-22.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$14.16 ₡6,352

-11.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$5.07 ₡2,273

-45.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.57 ₡705

-8.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.74 ₡2,124

-44.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.97 ₡1,782

-46.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$3.91 ₡1,754

-48.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$3.71 ₡1,663

-46.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.13 ₡505

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$3.19 ₡1,431

-62.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.07 ₡2,724

-29.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$20.24 ₡9,076

-50.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.84 ₡1,274

-45.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.60 ₡1,613

-26.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.28 ₡574

-58.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$2.45 ₡1,101

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.57 ₡704

118.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.80 ₡3,948

-38.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.50 ₡671

-3.33%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$22.2K ₡10.0M

-4.88%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$34.6K ₡15.5M

-33.38%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$96.4 ₡43.2K

-11.47%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$35.27 ₡15.8K

-33.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$59.2 ₡26.5K

-51.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$73.7 ₡33.0K

-15.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.87 ₡3,527

-35.20%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$993 ₡445.3K

-79.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$17.3K ₡7.8M

-77.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$72.0 ₡32.3K

-38.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$56.4 ₡25.3K

-26.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$128 ₡57.5K

-43.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$134 ₡60.1K

-33.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$808 ₡362.3K

21.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$626 ₡280.7K

-40.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,870 ₡838.7K

-10.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,287 ₡577.2K

-14.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.62

32.83%

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 Turrialba: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Turrialba

$626 36.3% 67.9% $253

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Turrialba

$402 23.3% 55.4% $143

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Turrialba

$227 13.2% 13.6% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Turrialba

$191 11.1% 39.1% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Turrialba

$176 10.2% 57.4% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Turrialba

$89 5.2% 23.5% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Turrialba

$15 * 0.9% 70.2% $36

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 $808 in Turrialba. 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $61.0 in Turrialba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $402 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Turrialba

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

06:15 6:15 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

27,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Turrialba 1,250 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Turrialba

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 Turrialba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Turrialba is pricier by about 43%, 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 $2,589 in Turrialba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,726 in Turrialba. That's a gap of about 43%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $993 in Turrialba. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Turrialba at $1,726. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Turrialba it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Turrialba makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.