Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ube

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,240 in Ube, rent and utilities included – about $460 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Ube
Learn more

Ube Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Ube

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,240

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,240 in Ube, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Ube $1,240

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,925 in Ube, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ube $1,925

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,610 in Ube, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Ube $2,610

Playa del Carmen is about 3% cheaper than Ube, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ube are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Ube 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$6.98 ¥1,106

52.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$34.82 ¥5,516

25.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$5.61 ¥889

110.16%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.20 ¥507

18.44%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.14 ¥181

14.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.81 ¥128

2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.02 ¥320

55.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.09 ¥489

59.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.51 ¥240

-6.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.57 ¥249

40.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$4.80 ¥760

-69.38%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$2.20 ¥349

13.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$9.93 ¥1,573

-26.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$6.37 ¥1,009

24.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$15.50 ¥2,455

-17.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$5.25 ¥832

-44.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.62 ¥415

-47.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$3.97 ¥629

-37.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$4.46 ¥707

-54.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$3.31 ¥524

-38.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.69 ¥427

-29.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.38 ¥218

-17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.82 ¥130

51.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.04 ¥640

5.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$6.65 ¥1,053

47.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.97 ¥312

-19.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.35 ¥372

17.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.60 ¥253

-68.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$56.5 ¥8,948

-51.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.39 ¥537

40.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.90 ¥459

12.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$21.04 ¥3,333

-74.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.18 ¥188

29.66%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$22.8K ¥3.6M

-7.05%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$17.2K ¥2.7M

35.03%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$142 ¥22.5K

-41.15%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$27.14 ¥4,299

-14.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$34.42 ¥5,453

-19.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$57.7 ¥9,147

-2.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.93 ¥2,207

102.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$12.94 ¥2,049

-61.36%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$277 ¥44.0K

-25.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$13.5K ¥2.1M

-61.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$42.73 ¥6,769

1.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$29.68 ¥4,702

43.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$60.0 ¥9,502

21.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$91.1 ¥14.4K

-2.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$462 ¥73.2K

115.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$330 ¥52.3K

15.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$860 ¥136.2K

94.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$648 ¥102.6K

66.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,856 ¥452.4K

36.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,757 ¥278.3K

249.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

1.81

532.60%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ube: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Ube

$330 26.6% 13.6% $52

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Ube

$306 24.7% 18.8% $48

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Ube

$135 10.9% 32.5% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Ube

$203 16.4% 51.5% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Ube

$101 8.1% 9.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Ube

$84 6.8% 25.9% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ube

$81 6.5% 60.1% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $462 in Ube. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $35 in Ube. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $306 in Ube – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇯🇵 Ube

🕒 Local time

15:56 3:56 PM

05:56 5:56 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

162,570

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.61 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Ube 12,720 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ube

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 Ube: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ube is pricier by about 3%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,859 in Ube. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ube, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $462 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,240 in Ube. That makes Playa del Carmen about 3% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 52% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,240 in Ube, 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 $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,240 in Ube. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.