Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Upala

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,431 in Upala, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Upala outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Upala
Learn more

Upala Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Upala

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,431

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,431 in Upala, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Upala $1,431

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,262 in Upala, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Upala $2,262

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,092 in Upala, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Upala $3,092

Playa del Carmen is about 16% cheaper than Upala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Upala is 6% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$12.11 ₡5,444

-11.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$54.7 ₡24.6K

-19.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$11.83 ₡5,319

-0.34%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.65 ₡1,641

3.84%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.81 ₡813

-28.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.74 ₡784

-52.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.34 ₡1,502

-5.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.46 ₡2,005

10.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.15 ₡967

-34.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.70 ₡762

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.48 ₡1,114

-40.73%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.67 ₡1,199

-6.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$3.33 ₡1,496

118.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$6.76 ₡3,041

17.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$8.75 ₡3,934

46.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.81 ₡815

60.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.65 ₡291

112.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.87 ₡1,292

-13.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.71 ₡1,221

-25.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$3.83 ₡1,724

-47.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.72 ₡1,222

-30.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.12 ₡505

1.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$2.69 ₡1,210

-53.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.86 ₡2,637

-27.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$8.89 ₡3,999

10.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.57 ₡1,156

-38.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.70 ₡1,662

-25.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.30 ₡585

-60.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$2.42 ₡1,087

96.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.63 ₡733

99.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$6.64 ₡2,984

-18.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.36 ₡612

12.50%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$34.1K ₡15.4M

-37.88%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$42.2K ₡19.0M

-44.88%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$56.5 ₡25.4K

47.67%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$36.32 ₡16.3K

-36.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$21.90 ₡9,847

26.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$69.0 ₡31.0K

-18.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.67 ₡3,447

-34.81%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$981 ₡441.3K

-78.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$17.0K ₡7.7M

-69.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$33.10 ₡14.9K

31.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$22.18 ₡9,975

91.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$129 ₡57.9K

-43.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$32.58 ₡14.6K

171.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$796 ₡357.8K

25.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$644 ₡289.4K

-40.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,869 ₡840.6K

-10.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,238 ₡556.8K

-12.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Upala: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Upala

$644 45% 68.3% $261

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Upala

$259 18.1% 0.5% $1.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Upala

$216 15.1% 7.8% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Upala

$115 8% 14.5% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Upala

$97 6.8% 12.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Upala

$84 5.9% 26.9% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Upala

$16 * 1.1% 68.7% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $796 in Upala. 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 $55 in Upala. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $259 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇷 Upala

🕒 Local time

08:34 8:34 AM

07:34 7:34 AM

1 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Upala 1,100 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Upala

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 Upala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Upala is pricier by about 19%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,146 in Upala. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Upala, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $796 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $55 in Upala. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $981 in Upala. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

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 $1,431 in Upala. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.