Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Utena

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,347 in Utena, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Utena
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Utena Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Utena

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$1,347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,347 in Utena, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Utena $1,347

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,040 in Utena, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Utena $2,040

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,733 in Utena, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Utena $2,733

Playa del Carmen is about 11% cheaper than Utena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$12.16 €10.89

-10.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$51.2 €45.91

-15.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.64 €5.95

77.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.05 €2.74

24.92%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.74 €2.45

-53.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.93 €1.73

-59.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$5.60 €5.02

-43.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.89 €4.38

0.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.23 €1.11

14.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.46 €1.31

52.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.74 €1.56

-18.39%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.82 €2.53

-10.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$10.01 €8.97

-27.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$5.86 €5.25

31.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.39 €8.41

35.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.60 €1.43

73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.44 €1.29

-4.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.64 €1.47

55.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.93 €2.63

-27.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.73 €0.65

165.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.99 €0.88

90.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.54 €1.38

-25.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.84 €0.76

40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$5.74 €5.14

-25.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.26 €7.40

20.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.60 €1.43

-1.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.72 €1.54

55.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.16 €1.04

-52.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$30.27 €27.12

-12.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$3.09 €2.77

60.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.87 €0.78

282.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$13.27 €11.89

-59.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.79 €1.60

-19.55%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$27.2K €24.4K

-24.12%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$27.9K €25.0K

-15.84%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$200 €180

-57.70%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$13.36 €11.97

75.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$11.40 €10.21

151.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$35.64 €31.93

60.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$24.52 €21.98

17.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$8.71 €7.81

-40.99%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$508 €456

-59.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$9,209 €8,252

-57.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$135 €121

-67.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$65.0 €58.2

-36.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$80.9 €72.5

-8.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$183 €164

-51.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$583 €522

68.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$389 €348

-2.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$838 €751

103.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$636 €570

68.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$3,101 €2,779

27.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,927 €1,727

219.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,189 €1,066

-38.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.97

188.41%

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 Utena: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Utena

$389 28.9% 2.1% $7.9

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Utena

$219 16.3% 14.1% $36

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Utena

$210 15.6% 3.9% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Utena

$225 16.7% 64.6% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Utena

$209 15.5% 87% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Utena

$53 3.9% 21.2% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Utena

$42 3.1% 16.1% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $583 in Utena. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 62% higher in Utena. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $51 in Utena. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $219 in Utena – so Utena wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇹 Utena

🕒 Local time

13:22 1:22 PM

20:22 8:22 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

28,997

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Utena 9,460 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Utena

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 Utena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Utena is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,021 in Utena. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Utena, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $583 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,347 in Utena. That makes Playa del Carmen about 11% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 12% 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,347 in Utena, 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,347 in Utena. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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