Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zepce

For one person, living is cheaper in Zepce: $1,080 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Zepce
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Zepce Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Zepce

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$1,080

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,080 in Zepce, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Zepce $1,080

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,658 in Zepce, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Zepce $1,658

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,235 in Zepce, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Zepce $2,235

Playa del Carmen costs about 11% more than Zepce, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Playa del Carmen and Zepce are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Zepce 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$9.84 BAM 17.17

10.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$824

$51.5 BAM 89.9

-14.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$219

$10.98 BAM 19.15

7.10%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.6

$1.79 BAM 3.12

105.59%

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

$1.34 MX$25.01

$2.60 BAM 4.54

-48.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.38

$1.62 BAM 2.82

-49.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.1

$2.46 BAM 4.30

24.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.1

$3.39 BAM 5.91

45.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.41

$1.39 BAM 2.42

5.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.32

$1.18 BAM 2.06

88.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.57

$1.60 BAM 2.79

-7.50%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.41

$2.81 BAM 4.90

-11.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$9.73 BAM 16.97

-22.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$148

$8.85 BAM 15.44

-10.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$13.83 BAM 24.13

-9.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$1.77 BAM 3.09

57.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.61

$1.95 BAM 3.41

-26.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.81

$2.16 BAM 3.77

21.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.85

$2.24 BAM 3.90

-4.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.72

$0.99 BAM 1.72

104.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.08

$1.41 BAM 2.46

41.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.20

$1.13 BAM 1.97

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.38

$0.91 BAM 1.58

31.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.4

$3.80 BAM 6.63

12.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$8.29 BAM 14.47

20.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.67

$0.95 BAM 1.65

62.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.62

$1.39 BAM 2.43

91.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.82

$1.38 BAM 2.40

-61.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$513

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.4

$1.68 BAM 2.93

191.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.1

$1.18 BAM 2.06

190.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$100

$17.42 BAM 30.38

-69.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.00

$1.69 BAM 2.94

-14.20%

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

$21.2K MX$394.5K

$30.0K BAM 52.3K

-29.49%

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

$23.0K MX$429.2K

$21.4K BAM 37.4K

7.50%

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

$85.4 MX$1,592

$158 BAM 275

-45.84%

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

$23.46 MX$438

$16.18 BAM 28.23

44.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$530

$36.75 BAM 64.1

-22.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,160

$32.50 BAM 56.7

91.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$535

$11.42 BAM 19.92

151.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.2

$2.89 BAM 5.04

76.47%

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

$201 MX$3,749

$288 BAM 502

-30.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.6K

$3,555 BAM 6,202

11.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$828

$83.9 BAM 146

-47.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$771

$35.69 BAM 62.3

15.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,356

$106 BAM 184

-31.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,671

$145 BAM 253

-38.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$294 BAM 514

232.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,950

$239 BAM 416

56.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.3K

$579 BAM 1,009

190.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.4K

$356 BAM 622

207.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.6K

$2,734 BAM 4,770

44.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.4K

$1,777 BAM 3,101

245.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.44

157.88%

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 Zepce: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Zepce

$239 22.1% 36% $134

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Zepce

$244 22.6% 5.6% $14

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Zepce

$169 15.7% 15.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Zepce

$211 19.5% 53.4% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Zepce

$167 15.4% 49.2% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Zepce

$38 3.5% 47.1% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Zepce

$13 * 1.2% 74.7% $39

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 $294 in Zepce. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $52 in Zepce. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $244 in Zepce – so Zepce wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇦 Zepce

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

21:03 9:03 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18.65 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.89 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zepce 9,550 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zepce

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 Zepce: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 11%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,620 in Zepce. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zepce, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $294 there versus $979 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,080 in Zepce. That’s a gap of about 11%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $288 in Zepce. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,080 in Zepce, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,080 in Zepce to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.