Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Van

For one person, living is cheaper in Van: $956 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Van
Learn more

Van Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $956 in Van, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Van $956

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,536 in Van, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Van $1,536

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,116 in Van, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Van $2,116

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

Both Playa del Carmen and Van are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Van 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$7.48 ₺373

45.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.59 ₺1,724

25.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.93 ₺395

48.55%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.57 ₺178

6.72%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.14 ₺56.6

12.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.42 ₺21.18

85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.33 ₺166

-4.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.10 ₺154

59.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.96 ₺47.68

46.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.00 ₺49.81

122.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.25 ₺112

-36.89%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.48 ₺73.9

70.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.99 ₺448

-19.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.07 ₺203

89.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$22.62 ₺1,127

-43.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.82 ₺90.9

52.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.83 ₺91.1

-25.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.09 ₺54.4

133.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.15 ₺57.4

84.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.52 ₺25.74

273.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.35 ₺17.45

440.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.74 ₺36.88

55.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.61 ₺30.54

93.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.16 ₺108

99.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$10.36 ₺516

-3.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.01 ₺100.0

-21.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.79 ₺139

-4.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.73 ₺36.60

-24.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.30 ₺64.6

282.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.76 ₺37.86

338.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.21 ₺359

-25.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.28 ₺64.0

12.50%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$42.2K ₺2.1M

-51.08%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-39.69%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$79.9 ₺3,982

6.12%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$10.46 ₺522

123.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$13.39 ₺667

114.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$57.0 ₺2,842

0.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.49 ₺324

-20.80%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$624 ₺31.1K

-66.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$11.4K ₺566.2K

-65.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$45.86 ₺2,285

-5.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$33.35 ₺1,662

24.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$79.7 ₺3,970

-6.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$88.8 ₺4,426

0.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$469 ₺23.4K

108.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$278 ₺13.9K

36.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$816 ₺40.7K

109.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$586 ₺29.2K

83.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,491 ₺74.3K

164.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$968 ₺48.2K

536.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

41.33

-72.30%

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 Van: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Van

$278 29.1% 26.9% $102

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Van

$229 23.9% 10.2% $26

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Van

$156 16.3% 23.1% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Van

$104 10.9% 24.2% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Van

$111 11.7% 0.2% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Van

$70 7.3% 4% $2.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Van

$8 * 0.8% 84.1% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $469 in Van. 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 $35 in Van. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $229 – making Van the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇷 Van

🕒 Local time

09:02 9:02 AM

17:02 5:02 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,141,015

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.46 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Van 11,660 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Van

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 Van: 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 eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,434 in Van. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Van, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $469 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $956 in Van. That’s a gap of about 26%.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $624 in Van. 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 $956 in Van to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.