Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Varadero Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Varadero

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 8.2% cheaper than Varadero without rent, and 21.7% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 1.4% more expensive than Varadero without rent, and 26.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$209

$5.67 CUP 136

108.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$744

$48.05 CUP 1,153

-12.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$190

$8.94 CUP 215

20.25%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$61.3

$1.02 CUP 24.43

240.20%

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

$1.45 MX$25.65

$1.93 CUP 46.35

-24.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.93

$0.97 CUP 23.29

-7.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$53.9

$3.80 CUP 91.2

-19.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$77.9

$2.51 CUP 60.2

76.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.17

$3.09 CUP 74.1

-55.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.05

$1.31 CUP 31.51

42.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.25

$1.45 CUP 34.70

6.21%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.18

$2.31 CUP 55.5

8.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$152

$6.15 CUP 147

40.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$152

$4.95 CUP 119

74.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$195

$11.88 CUP 285

-7.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$48.53

$5.08 CUP 122

-45.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.21

$0.54 CUP 12.92

164.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.05

$0.99 CUP 23.74

88.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.26

$1.08 CUP 25.92

100.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.23

$0.90 CUP 21.56

108.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$39.65

$5.59 CUP 134

-59.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.85

$0.36 CUP 8.54

197.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$18.95

$0.55 CUP 13.17

94.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$73.3

$3.72 CUP 89.3

11.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$182

$5.43 CUP 130

90.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$29.64

$0.86 CUP 20.69

95.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$43.84

$0.76 CUP 18.35

226.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.80

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$468

$19.80 CUP 475

33.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$56.8

$1.94 CUP 46.63

65.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$43.80

$0.98 CUP 23.63

153.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$54.9

$20.04 CUP 481

-84.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.16

$1.33 CUP 31.89

-5.26%

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

$30.7K MX$541.1K

$70.1K CUP 1.7M

-56.29%

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

$24.0K MX$424.3K

$79.9K CUP 1.9M

-69.92%

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

$82.5 MX$1,456

$39.20 CUP 941

110.41%

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

$22.29 MX$393

$40.71 CUP 977

-45.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$530

$216 CUP 5,195

-86.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$908

$40.25 CUP 966

27.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$323

$15.12 CUP 363

20.97%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$88.0

$0.98 CUP 23.46

408.16%

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

$200 MX$3,530

$88.5 CUP 2,124

126.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$93.6K

$14.8K CUP 354.3K

-64.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$630

$39.83 CUP 956

-10.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$698

$30.36 CUP 729

30.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,422

$73.6 CUP 1,766

9.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,559

$85.3 CUP 2,046

3.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.1K

$394 CUP 9,445

146.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,511

$806 CUP 19.3K

-40.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.2K

$1,192 CUP 28.6K

33.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$20.9K

$644 CUP 15.4K

83.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$71.5K

$402 CUP 9,652

907.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$115.1K

$345 CUP 8,279

1790.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.4K

$19.20 CUP 461

3839.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

-23.87%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

Last update for Varadero: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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