Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zanzibar

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $579 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
Learn more

Zanzibar Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$579

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $579 in Zanzibar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Zanzibar $579

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $864 in Zanzibar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Zanzibar $864

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,148 in Zanzibar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Zanzibar $1,148

Playa del Carmen costs about 108% more than Zanzibar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Zanzibar are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Zanzibar 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$4.70 TZS 12.3K

131.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$22.08 TZS 57.8K

100.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.59 TZS 14.6K

110.38%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.20 TZS 5,769

67.27%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.58 TZS 1,520

131.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.30 TZS 776

173.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.86 TZS 4,879

64.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.58 TZS 6,764

91.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.11 TZS 5,521

-30.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.71 TZS 1,859

212.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.79 TZS 2,058

87.34%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.71 TZS 7,092

-8.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$7.58 TZS 19.9K

-0.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$2.21 TZS 5,776

260.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$5.87 TZS 15.4K

114.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.78 TZS 7,271

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.15 TZS 3,001

24.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$0.78 TZS 2,050

235.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$0.55 TZS 1,428

289.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.90 TZS 2,351

124.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.55 TZS 4,063

28.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.76 TZS 2,003

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.49 TZS 1,274

144.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.08 TZS 5,445

104.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$9.55 TZS 25.0K

4.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.50 TZS 3,921

2.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.35 TZS 3,536

97.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.31 TZS 825

70.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.69 TZS 9,672

32.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.73 TZS 1,920

369.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$2.66 TZS 6,964

102.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.21 TZS 3,180

19.83%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$48.9K TZS 128.1M

-52.95%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$74.3 TZS 194.6K

14.87%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$11.29 TZS 29.6K

107.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$48.43 TZS 126.8K

-41.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$28.77 TZS 75.3K

116.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$9.26 TZS 24.3K

-44.92%

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

$201 MX$3,715

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$13.12 TZS 34.3K

238.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$16.88 TZS 44.2K

144.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$15.05 TZS 39.4K

383.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$13.05 TZS 34.2K

586.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$147 TZS 385.1K

566.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$100 TZS 262.1K

272.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$198 TZS 518.2K

749.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$148 TZS 388.8K

637.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$37.8K TZS 99.1M

-89.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

-46.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$312 TZS 816.7K

136.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.50%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Zanzibar: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Zanzibar

$100 17.3% 73.2% $273

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Zanzibar

$164 28.3% 36.5% $94

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Zanzibar

$99 17.1% 50.7% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Zanzibar

$134 23.2% 2.3% $3.2

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Zanzibar

$26 4.5% 76.6% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Zanzibar

$47 8.2% 34.7% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Zanzibar

$8.6 * 1.5% 83.3% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $147 in Zanzibar. 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 136% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $22.00 in Zanzibar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $164 – making Zanzibar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🕒 Local time

07:34 7:34 AM

15:34 3:34 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

709,809

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,944 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zanzibar 14,020 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zanzibar

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 Zanzibar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 108%, 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 $869 in Zanzibar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zanzibar, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 57% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $22.00 in Zanzibar. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zanzibar, where all-in costs run around $579, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Zanzibar it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zanzibar – 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 Zanzibar. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.