Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Upper Hutt

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,952 in Upper Hutt, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Upper Hutt
Learn more

Upper Hutt Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Upper Hutt

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,952

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Upper Hutt

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,952 in Upper Hutt, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Upper Hutt $1,952

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,954 in Upper Hutt, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Upper Hutt $2,954

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,956 in Upper Hutt, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Upper Hutt $3,956

Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper than Upper Hutt, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Upper Hutt is 43% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$8.58 NZ$15.24

27.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$57.9 NZ$103

-25.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.66 NZ$15.37

36.03%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$2.92 NZ$5.18

30.48%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.39 NZ$4.25

-46.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$1.74 NZ$3.09

-55.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$7.58 NZ$13.46

-58.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.64 NZ$11.79

-25.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-24.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.18 NZ$3.86

1.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-23.66%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$7.09 NZ$12.58

-64.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$5.51 NZ$9.78

31.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$9.62 NZ$17.08

-19.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$15.38 NZ$27.30

-17.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.17 NZ$5.63

-12.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.26 NZ$4.02

-39.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$3.14 NZ$5.58

-18.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$6.41 NZ$11.38

-66.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.17 NZ$3.85

-10.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.30 NZ$2.31

45.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$2.08 NZ$3.69

-44.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.15 NZ$2.05

2.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$25.44 NZ$45.17

-83.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$11.31 NZ$20.09

-12.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$3.19 NZ$5.67

-50.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.77 NZ$4.92

-3.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$1.89 NZ$3.36

-70.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$105 NZ$187

-74.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$1.82 NZ$3.23

173.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.84 NZ$3.27

80.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$34.32 NZ$60.9

-84.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.83 NZ$3.24

-21.31%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$28.5K NZ$50.6K

-27.49%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$23.2K NZ$41.2K

1.20%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$113 NZ$201

-25.22%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$25.35 NZ$45.01

-7.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$54.8 NZ$97.2

-47.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$42.80 NZ$76.0

33.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$12.16 NZ$21.59

-57.73%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$1,064 NZ$1,890

-80.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$13.3K NZ$23.6K

-70.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$78.6 NZ$140

-44.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$28.83 NZ$51.2

43.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$104 NZ$185

-28.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$156 NZ$276

-42.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,057 NZ$1,877

-7.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$869 NZ$1,542

-56.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,498 NZ$2,659

14.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,531 NZ$2,719

-29.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$4,193 NZ$7,444

-5.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$3,357 NZ$5,960

83.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.39

112.43%

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 Upper Hutt: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Upper Hutt

$869 44.5% 128% $488

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Upper Hutt

$336 17.2% 32% $82

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Upper Hutt

$197 10.1% 2.5% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Upper Hutt

$194 9.9% 41.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Upper Hutt

$165 8.5% 48% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Upper Hutt

$67 3.4% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Upper Hutt

$124 6.3% 146% $73

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,057 in Upper Hutt. 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 $58 in Upper Hutt. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $336 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇿 Upper Hutt

🕒 Local time

19:06 7:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

18 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

44,600

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Upper Hutt 12,140 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Upper Hutt

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 Upper Hutt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Upper Hutt is pricier by about 62%, 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 $2,928 in Upper Hutt. 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 $1,057 in Upper Hutt. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,952 in Upper Hutt. That makes Playa del Carmen about 38% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 75% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Upper Hutt at $1,952. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Upper Hutt 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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 38% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.