Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Vancouver

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $2,684 in Vancouver, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Vancouver
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Vancouver Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Vancouver

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,684

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,684 in Vancouver, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Vancouver $2,684

A couple spends around $2,144 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,878 in Vancouver, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Vancouver $3,878

A family of three spends $3,072 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,072 in Vancouver, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Vancouver $5,072

Playa del Carmen is about 55% cheaper than Vancouver, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 9% below the global median, while Vancouver is 100% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$200

$17.30 CA$24.61

-36.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$816

$69.0 CA$98.1

-34.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$217

$10.56 CA$15.02

12.88%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.2

$3.89 CA$5.53

-2.31%

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

$1.31 MX$23.86

$2.05 CA$2.92

-36.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.58

$1.62 CA$2.31

-46.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$58.4

$5.54 CA$7.89

-42.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$91.2

$6.33 CA$9.00

-20.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.53

$2.31 CA$3.29

-36.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.33

$2.50 CA$3.56

-6.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.24

$4.44 CA$6.32

-67.57%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$44.78

$4.07 CA$5.79

-39.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$140

$11.28 CA$16.04

-31.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$144

$13.42 CA$19.09

-41.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$233

$20.10 CA$28.59

-36.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.1

$4.06 CA$5.77

-28.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$25.87

$1.33 CA$1.89

6.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$46.66

$3.91 CA$5.56

-34.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$38.88

$4.05 CA$5.77

-47.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.42

$2.72 CA$3.87

-28.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.22

$2.89 CA$4.11

-32.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$20.94

$2.53 CA$3.60

-54.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.21

$1.62 CA$2.30

-24.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$79.6

$15.57 CA$22.15

-71.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$179

$14.05 CA$19.99

-29.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$27.97

$2.69 CA$3.82

-42.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.40

$2.99 CA$4.26

-9.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.55

$2.44 CA$3.47

-78.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$499

$83.4 CA$119

-67.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$89.4

$2.71 CA$3.86

81.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.1

$1.57 CA$2.23

124.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$103

$31.39 CA$44.65

-81.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.01

$1.38 CA$1.96

11.59%

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

$21.2K MX$386.3K

$28.1K CA$39.9K

-24.33%

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

$24.5K MX$445.4K

$19.8K CA$28.2K

23.58%

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

$83.6 MX$1,521

$81.2 CA$115

3.02%

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

$24.03 MX$437

$37.45 CA$53.3

-35.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$534

$51.4 CA$73.1

-42.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,180

$43.47 CA$61.8

49.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$536

$12.53 CA$17.82

135.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$92.5

$12.54 CA$17.84

-59.41%

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

$208 MX$3,778

$1,094 CA$1,557

-81.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$73.6K

$19.9K CA$28.3K

-79.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$810

$57.0 CA$81.1

-21.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$765

$32.73 CA$46.56

28.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,374

$92.6 CA$132

-18.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,662

$94.2 CA$134

-2.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$17.9K

$1,745 CA$2,483

-43.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,007

$1,484 CA$2,111

-74.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.2K

$2,998 CA$4,264

-42.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.2K

$2,422 CA$3,446

-54.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.0K

$8,002 CA$11.4K

-49.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$113.6K

$6,457 CA$9,184

-3.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.8K

$3,799 CA$5,404

-80.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.28

167.52%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Vancouver: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Vancouver

$1.5K 56.6% 285% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Vancouver

$399 15.2% 53.1% $138

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Vancouver

$272 10.4% 33.3% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Vancouver

$170 6.5% 24.1% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Vancouver

$124 4.8% 9.1% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Vancouver

$69 2.6% 8.6% $6.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Vancouver

$104 4% 99.2% $52

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,745 in Vancouver. 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 401% higher in Vancouver, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $69.0 in Vancouver. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $399 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 Vancouver

🕒 Local time

02:44 2:44 AM

00:44 12:44 AM

2 h behind Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

631,486

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.627 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.627 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Vancouver 4,500 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Vancouver

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 Vancouver: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Vancouver is pricier by about 121%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,823 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,026 in Vancouver. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, 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 $1,215 in Playa del Carmen and $2,684 in Vancouver. That's a gap of about 121%.

Public transport costs about 204% 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 $1,215, than in Vancouver at $2,684. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Vancouver 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.

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