Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qrendi and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,087 in Qrendi, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Qrendi, Malta
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Qrendi
🇲🇹 Malta
$2,087
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Qrendi and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,087 per month in Qrendi vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Qrendi $2,087
  • Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,037 per month in Qrendi vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Qrendi $3,037
  • Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,987 per month in Qrendi vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Qrendi $3,987
  • Playa del Carmen $2,959

Qrendi costs about 73% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Qrendi sits 53% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$19.32 €17.30
$10.92 MX$205
76.92%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$88.1 €78.9
$43.37 MX$814
103.20%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.56 €12.14
$11.78 MX$221
15.11%
Cappuccino
$2.65 €2.38
$3.81 MX$71.5
-30.45%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.05 €2.73
$1.28 MX$24.07
138.28%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.22 €1.99
$0.78 MX$14.70
184.62%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.44 €3.98
$3.17 MX$59.5
40.06%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.19 €4.65
$4.93 MX$92.7
5.27%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.34 €1.20
$1.41 MX$26.40
-4.96%
White Bread (500g)
$1.34 €1.20
$2.22 MX$41.62
-39.64%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$4.45 €3.99
$1.42 MX$26.61
213.38%
Eggs
$4.34 €3.89
$2.52 MX$47.36
72.22%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.22 €7.36
$7.26 MX$136
13.22%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.36 €9.28
$7.70 MX$144
34.55%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$18.00 €16.12
$12.69 MX$238
41.84%
Apples (1kg)
$4.15 €3.72
$2.78 MX$52.3
49.28%
Banana (1kg)
$2.73 €2.44
$1.37 MX$25.68
99.27%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.68 €3.30
$2.55 MX$47.89
44.31%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.42 €3.06
$2.12 MX$39.86
61.32%
Potato (1kg)
$2.21 €1.98
$1.94 MX$36.39
13.92%
Onion (1kg)
$1.86 €1.66
$1.89 MX$35.41
-1.59%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.38 €2.13
$1.15 MX$21.53
106.96%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.35 €1.21
$1.18 MX$22.13
14.41%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.75 €6.04
$4.30 MX$80.6
56.98%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.25 €7.39
$9.95 MX$187
-17.09%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.63 €1.46
$1.58 MX$29.73
3.16%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.43 €2.17
$2.67 MX$50.1
-8.99%
🚌 Getting Around
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.14 €1.91
$0.55 MX$10.39
289.09%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.62 MX$500
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.62 €5.03
$4.97 MX$93.3
13.08%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.19 €1.96
$3.33 MX$62.5
-34.23%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$26.73 €23.94
$5.36 MX$101
398.69%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 €1.32
$1.44 MX$27.11
2.08%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.3K €34.3K
$20.7K MX$388.0K
85.50%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.9K €34.8K
$23.5K MX$440.5K
65.70%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$101 €90.2
$84.8 MX$1,592
18.78%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$25.62 €22.94
$23.41 MX$439
9.44%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$43.34 €38.82
$28.66 MX$538
51.22%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.9 €49.12
$57.1 MX$1,071
-3.86%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$28.91 MX$543
-
Cinema Ticket
$10.24 €9.17
$5.14 MX$96.5
99.22%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$373 €334
$207 MX$3,878
80.47%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.0K €9,814
$3,927 MX$73.7K
179.01%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$86.3 €77.3
$43.35 MX$814
99.03%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.24 €36.04
$41.44 MX$778
-2.90%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$97.9 €87.7
$74.2 MX$1,393
31.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$79.7 €71.4
$89.3 MX$1,676
-10.72%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,289 €1,154
$980 MX$18.4K
31.59%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,072 €960
$381 MX$7,150
181.57%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,748 €1,565
$1,708 MX$32.1K
2.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,508 €1,351
$1,075 MX$20.2K
40.30%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,587 €3,212
$3,943 MX$74.0K
-9.03%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,805 €2,513
$6,158 MX$115.6K
-54.44%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Qrendi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$735 MX$13.8K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
2.9
11.45
-74.67%

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

Last update for Qrendi: October 25, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Qrendi
$1.1K
Playa del Carmen
$381 64.5% $691
Groceries & Markets
Qrendi
$327
Playa del Carmen
$255 22.1% $72
Eating Out
Qrendi
$281
Playa del Carmen
$202 27.9% $78
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Qrendi
$170
Playa del Carmen
$137 19.3% $33
Clothing & Footwear
Qrendi
$137
Playa del Carmen
$112 18.4% $25
Sport & Entertainment
Qrendi
$75
Playa del Carmen
$67 10.6% $8
Getting Around
Qrendi
$25 *
Playa del Carmen
$50 101% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,289 in Qrendi versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. 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 $88 in Qrendi versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $327 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇹 Qrendi
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
03:51 3:51 AM
21:51 9:51 PM
6 h behind Qrendi
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
2,800
149,923
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Qrendi Playa del Carmen 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Qrendi
  • Playa del Carmen

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
Qrendi vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Qrendi?
Yes – Qrendi is pricier by about 73%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,130 per month in Qrendi and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,289 in Qrendi.
What are total monthly expenses in Qrendi and in Playa del Carmen?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,087 in Qrendi and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 42% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $373 per month in Qrendi and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Qrendi or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Qrendi at $2,087. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Qrendi it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Qrendi or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Qrendi vs other spots: cost of living compared

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