Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ushuaia

For one person, living is cheaper in Ushuaia: $957 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Ushuaia
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Ushuaia Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Ushuaia

🇦🇷 Argentina

$957

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $957 in Ushuaia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Ushuaia $957

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,570 in Ushuaia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Ushuaia $1,570

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,183 in Ushuaia, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Ushuaia $2,183

Playa del Carmen costs about 26% more than Ushuaia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ushuaia are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Ushuaia 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$10.38 ARS 15.8K

3.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$33.08 ARS 50.2K

30.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.06 ARS 13.7K

30.13%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.78 ARS 4,224

39.21%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.67 ARS 2,528

-17.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.54 ARS 2,330

-45.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.16 ARS 3,274

43.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.04 ARS 4,610

66.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.31 ARS 1,984

9.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.57 ARS 2,388

42.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.02 ARS 3,069

-27.23%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.27 ARS 3,449

11.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$10.15 ARS 15.4K

-28.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$6.35 ARS 9,633

23.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.23 ARS 14.0K

38.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.01 ARS 3,052

44.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.06 ARS 3,132

-30.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.27 ARS 1,933

100.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.62 ARS 3,980

-21.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.17 ARS 1,779

70.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.19 ARS 1,809

68.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.32 ARS 2,005

-9.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.45 ARS 2,197

-13.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.11 ARS 4,716

41.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$5.02 ARS 7,625

91.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.97 ARS 2,994

-19.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.02 ARS 4,583

-6.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.77 ARS 1,173

-25.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.47 ARS 2,224

238.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.86 ARS 1,308

306.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$5.86 ARS 8,894

-7.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.10 ARS 1,671

33.64%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$27.9K ARS 42.3M

-24.75%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$30.4K ARS 46.1M

-21.25%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$65.8 ARS 99.8K

28.00%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$17.24 ARS 26.2K

39.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$22.31 ARS 33.9K

30.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$26.50 ARS 40.2K

137.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$13.68 ARS 20.8K

113.01%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.16 ARS 9,341

-19.81%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$220 ARS 333.3K

-7.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$2,731 ARS 4.1M

44.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$75.1 ARS 113.9K

-41.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$70.4 ARS 106.8K

-38.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$114 ARS 173.1K

-33.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$111 ARS 168.4K

-20.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$342 ARS 519.2K

194.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$233 ARS 354.2K

60.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$694 ARS 1.1M

146.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$537 ARS 814.2K

106.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,848 ARS 2.8M

113.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,594 ARS 2.4M

286.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

58.5

-80.43%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ushuaia: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Ushuaia

$233 24.4% 37.6% $141

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Ushuaia

$231 24.1% 10.6% $27

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Ushuaia

$173 18.1% 14.3% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Ushuaia

$105 11% 23.2% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Ushuaia

$167 17.4% 47.6% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Ushuaia

$39 4.1% 46.7% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Ushuaia

$8.9 * 0.9% 83.1% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $342 in Ushuaia. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $33.00 in Ushuaia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $231 – making Ushuaia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇷 Ushuaia

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

11:04 11:04 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

79,538

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ushuaia 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ushuaia

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 Ushuaia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 26%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,436 in Ushuaia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ushuaia, 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $957 in Ushuaia. That's a gap of about 26%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $220 in Ushuaia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Ushuaia, where all-in costs run around $957, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Ushuaia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Ushuaia – 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 Ushuaia. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.