Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roman and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $842 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Roman
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Roman Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$842

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Roman 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 Roman and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $842 per month in Roman vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Roman $842
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,393 per month in Roman vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Roman $1,393
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,944 per month in Roman vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Roman $1,944
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Roman is about 30% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Roman and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Roman 38% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.46 RON 49.72

$10.67 MX$199

-1.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.05 RON 157

$43.80 MX$815

-24.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.27 RON 34.54

$11.79 MX$219

-38.34%

Cappuccino

$2.54 RON 12.06

$3.79 MX$70.5

-32.98%

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

$1.35 RON 6.41

$1.30 MX$24.14

3.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 RON 4.94

$0.83 MX$15.51

25.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 RON 10.17

$3.15 MX$58.6

-32.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.36

$4.93 MX$91.8

-55.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 RON 5.62

$1.41 MX$26.22

-16.31%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 RON 3.15

$2.20 MX$40.86

-70.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 RON 6.82

$1.47 MX$27.40

-2.72%

Eggs

$2.91 RON 13.84

$2.50 MX$46.46

16.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.85 RON 37.32

$7.29 MX$136

7.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.76 RON 27.37

$7.95 MX$148

-27.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.25 RON 39.22

$12.86 MX$239

-35.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.07 RON 5.07

$2.90 MX$53.9

-63.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.11

$1.38 MX$25.74

7.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.39 RON 6.59

$2.49 MX$46.35

-44.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 RON 8.69

$2.03 MX$37.77

-9.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 RON 3.25

$2.02 MX$37.68

-66.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.94

$1.90 MX$35.42

-56.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$1.14 MX$21.30

-28.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 RON 3.45

$1.24 MX$23.05

-41.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.32 RON 25.27

$4.27 MX$79.5

24.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.38 RON 25.59

$9.81 MX$183

-45.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 RON 4.56

$1.59 MX$29.51

-39.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 RON 5.58

$2.75 MX$51.1

-57.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 RON 3.53

$0.51 MX$9.58

45.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.48 RON 97.4

$27.39 MX$510

-25.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.65 RON 3.11

$4.76 MX$88.6

-86.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 RON 3.08

$3.25 MX$60.5

-80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.36 RON 34.98

$5.39 MX$100

36.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 RON 8.66

$1.53 MX$28.44

18.95%

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

$28.3K RON 134.6K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

33.46%

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

$24.7K RON 117.6K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

6.38%

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

$147 RON 699

$83.5 MX$1,554

76.20%

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

$6.70 RON 31.85

$23.19 MX$431

-71.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.03 RON 38.18

$27.61 MX$514

-70.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.42 RON 178

$56.4 MX$1,050

-33.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.23 RON 81.9

$28.19 MX$525

-38.88%

Cinema Ticket

$6.26 RON 29.73

$5.00 MX$93.1

25.20%

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

$290 RON 1,377

$207 MX$3,854

39.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,433 RON 30.6K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

22.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.0 RON 456

$43.45 MX$809

120.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.20 RON 120

$42.54 MX$792

-40.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.6 RON 293

$72.8 MX$1,354

-15.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.4 RON 278

$88.4 MX$1,645

-33.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 RON 1,015

$995 MX$18.5K

-78.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 RON 754

$382 MX$7,116

-58.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 RON 2,906

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-63.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$459 RON 2,181

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-57.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 RON 8,643

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-53.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,519 RON 7,220

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-75.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$828 RON 3,935

$832 MX$15.5K

-0.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

11.45

-37.12%

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

Last update for Roman: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Roman

$176 20.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 46.7% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roman

$162 19.2%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 17% $28

Eating Out

Roman

$161 19.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 24.7% $40

Accommodation & Living

Roman

$159 18.8%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 141% $224

Clothing & Footwear

Roman

$109 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 2.5% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Roman

$50 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 33.1% $17

Getting Around

Roman

$27 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 84.5% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $213 in Roman versus $995 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 $33 in Roman versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $176 vs $257 – making Roman the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Roman

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:31 4:31 AM

21:31 9:31 PM

7 h behind Roman

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,328

149,923

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Roman Playa del Carmen 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Roman
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

Roman vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 43%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,264 per month in Roman and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Roman, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $213 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $842 in Roman and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Roman about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 25% less in Roman. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Roman, where all-in costs run around $842, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Roman it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen 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 $842 in Roman to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Roman is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 30% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.