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 13.6% cheaper than Varadero without rent, and 22.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 18.4% cheaper than Varadero without rent, and 29.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.61 MX$200

$5.87 CUP 141

97.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.75 MX$738

$47.11 CUP 1,131

-9.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 MX$183

$8.79 CUP 211

20.59%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$62.0

$0.97 CUP 23.31

270.10%

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

$1.45 MX$25.08

$1.91 CUP 45.88

-24.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.50

$0.98 CUP 23.50

-8.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.03 MX$52.4

$3.64 CUP 87.4

-16.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 MX$78.8

$2.62 CUP 62.9

74.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$25.07

$2.95 CUP 70.7

-50.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 MX$31.55

$1.31 CUP 31.44

39.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 MX$27.77

$1.50 CUP 36.06

7.33%

Eggs

$2.54 MX$43.82

$2.39 CUP 57.4

6.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.54 MX$148

$5.99 CUP 144

42.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.47 MX$146

$4.94 CUP 119

71.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.86 MX$188

$12.17 CUP 292

-10.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 MX$47.13

$4.95 CUP 119

-44.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 MX$25.77

$0.58 CUP 13.88

156.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$33.55

$1.02 CUP 24.45

90.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 MX$37.38

$1.13 CUP 27.04

91.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 MX$31.88

$0.95 CUP 22.82

94.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$37.80

$5.50 CUP 132

-60.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.52

$0.35 CUP 8.52

205.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$18.71

$0.54 CUP 12.87

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 MX$70.1

$3.63 CUP 87.0

11.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.46 MX$181

$5.73 CUP 138

82.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 MX$28.56

$0.83 CUP 19.89

98.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 MX$44.01

$0.71 CUP 16.94

259.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 MX$9.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.20 MX$453

$20.12 CUP 483

30.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.14 MX$54.2

$1.99 CUP 47.65

57.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.37 MX$40.96

$1.02 CUP 24.41

132.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$56.0

$20.39 CUP 489

-84.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$22.70

$1.27 CUP 30.40

3.15%

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

$30.5K MX$527.4K

$69.1K CUP 1.7M

-55.81%

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

$23.8K MX$411.4K

$78.5K CUP 1.9M

-69.64%

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

$83.1 MX$1,436

$39.55 CUP 949

110.21%

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

$22.15 MX$383

$40.58 CUP 974

-45.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.37 MX$507

$221 CUP 5,300

-86.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 MX$884

$39.54 CUP 949

29.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.69 MX$323

$15.02 CUP 360

24.43%

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 MX$84.4

$1.02 CUP 24.40

379.41%

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

$199 MX$3,431

$88.9 CUP 2,133

123.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,207 MX$89.9K

$14.8K CUP 355.7K

-64.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.93 MX$621

$39.78 CUP 955

-9.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.39 MX$680

$30.32 CUP 728

29.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.3 MX$1,387

$75.7 CUP 1,816

6.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 MX$1,512

$85.2 CUP 2,044

2.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$963 MX$16.6K

$403 CUP 9,679

138.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,326

$809 CUP 19.4K

-40.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 MX$28.4K

$1,196 CUP 28.7K

37.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 MX$20.6K

$639 CUP 15.3K

86.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,957 MX$68.3K

$400 CUP 9,598

889.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,513 MX$112.5K

$351 CUP 8,431

1754.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$726 MX$12.5K

$18.99 CUP 456

3724.70%

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: April 12, 2026

Last update for Varadero: April 11, 2026

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuta, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova