Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zambrone

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,650 in Zambrone, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Zambrone
Learn more

Zambrone Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Zambrone

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,650

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,650 in Zambrone, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Zambrone $1,650

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,408 in Zambrone, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Zambrone $2,408

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,166 in Zambrone, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Zambrone $3,166

Playa del Carmen is about 27% cheaper than Zambrone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Zambrone is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$16.69 €14.99

-34.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$56.5 €50.8

-23.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$11.31 €10.16

4.16%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.27 €2.04

67.84%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.36 €2.12

-45.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.19 €1.07

-34.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$5.70 €5.12

-44.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.97 €3.57

24.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.31 €1.18

7.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.80 €1.62

23.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.87 €2.58

-50.52%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.94 €2.64

-14.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$14.48 €13.01

-49.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$11.99 €10.77

-35.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$17.32 €15.56

-26.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.91 €2.62

-4.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.16 €1.94

-36.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.87 €2.58

-11.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$3.08 €2.77

-31.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.70 €1.53

14.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.52 €1.37

24.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.87 €1.68

-38.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.43 €0.39

174.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$6.73 €6.05

-36.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.52 €6.76

32.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.07 €1.86

-23.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.02 €2.71

-11.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.51 €1.36

-63.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$48.13 €43.23

-44.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.29 €2.95

51.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.11 €0.99

200.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$37.55 €33.73

-85.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$2.05 €1.84

-29.76%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$35.7K €32.1K

-42.11%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$37.9K €34.0K

-38.08%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$229 €206

-62.95%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$10.20 €9.16

129.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$26.33 €23.65

8.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$51.0 €45.79

11.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$22.02 €19.78

31.29%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$9.29 €8.35

-44.67%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$444 €399

-53.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,599 €5,029

-29.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$71.2 €63.9

-39.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$30.38 €27.29

36.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$85.2 €76.5

-12.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$123 €110

-27.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$718 €645

36.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$551 €495

-30.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,057 €950

61.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$772 €693

39.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,528 €2,271

55.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,896 €1,703

224.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,215 €1,990

-66.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.39

237.76%

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 Zambrone: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Zambrone

$551 33.4% 44.7% $170

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Zambrone

$316 19.2% 24.2% $62

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Zambrone

$245 14.9% 21.2% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Zambrone

$265 16.1% 93.9% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Zambrone

$139 8.4% 24.7% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Zambrone

$70 4.2% 3.3% $2.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Zambrone

$63 3.8% 24.9% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $718 in Zambrone. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Zambrone are about 3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $57 in Zambrone. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $316 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇹 Zambrone

🕒 Local time

18:07 6:07 PM

00:07 12:07 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zambrone 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zambrone

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 Zambrone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Zambrone is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,475 in Zambrone. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zambrone, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $718 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,650 in Zambrone. That makes Playa del Carmen about 27% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 45% 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 $1,204, than in Zambrone at $1,650. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Zambrone it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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 $1,650 in Zambrone. 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, Zambrone makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.