Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sale, Australia and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,496 in Sale, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Sale
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Sale Living Index
58

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

Jump to prices

Sale

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,496

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,496 per month in Sale vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sale $2,496
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,598 per month in Sale vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sale $3,598
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,701 per month in Sale vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sale $4,701
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Sale costs about 107% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sale sits 83% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.56 A$26.29

$10.92 MX$203

69.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.3 A$125

$43.37 MX$808

103.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 A$15.73

$11.78 MX$219

-5.77%

Cappuccino

$3.42 A$4.85

$3.81 MX$71.0

-10.24%

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

$2.71 A$3.84

$1.28 MX$23.89

111.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 A$2.99

$0.78 MX$14.58

170.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 A$11.26

$3.17 MX$59.0

150.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.53 A$10.67

$4.93 MX$91.9

52.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 A$2.38

$1.41 MX$26.20

19.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 A$3.32

$2.22 MX$41.30

5.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 A$3.14

$1.42 MX$26.40

56.34%

Eggs

$4.60 A$6.52

$2.52 MX$47.00

82.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 A$11.89

$7.26 MX$135

15.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.35 A$13.24

$7.70 MX$143

21.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.11 A$19.99

$12.69 MX$236

11.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 A$4.96

$2.78 MX$51.9

25.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.90 A$4.10

$1.37 MX$25.49

111.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 A$4.20

$2.55 MX$47.52

16.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.48 A$6.34

$2.12 MX$39.55

111.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.80 A$3.96

$1.94 MX$36.11

44.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 A$3.04

$1.89 MX$35.13

13.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.68 A$3.80

$1.15 MX$21.36

133.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 A$2.41

$1.18 MX$21.96

44.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.03 A$58.1

$4.30 MX$80.0

854.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.91 A$19.70

$9.95 MX$185

39.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.43 A$6.27

$1.58 MX$29.50

180.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.43 A$7.69

$2.67 MX$49.76

103.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 A$3.85

$0.55 MX$10.31

394.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.1 A$109

$26.62 MX$496

189.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 A$5.67

$4.97 MX$92.6

-19.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 A$2.60

$3.33 MX$62.1

-45.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.26 A$59.9

$5.36 MX$99.8

688.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 A$2.04

$1.44 MX$26.90

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

$33.2K A$47.1K

$20.7K MX$385.0K

60.81%

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

$26.4K A$37.4K

$23.5K MX$437.2K

12.63%

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

$194 A$275

$84.8 MX$1,580

129.21%

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

$30.24 A$42.83

$23.41 MX$436

29.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.46 A$68.7

$28.66 MX$534

69.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 A$79.9

$57.1 MX$1,063

-1.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.09 A$25.63

$28.91 MX$539

-37.43%

Cinema Ticket

$14.56 A$20.63

$5.14 MX$95.7

183.27%

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

$2,348 A$3,326

$207 MX$3,848

1036.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K A$25.1K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

350.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 A$111

$43.35 MX$808

80.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.36 A$68.5

$41.44 MX$772

16.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 A$145

$74.2 MX$1,382

37.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 A$155

$89.3 MX$1,663

22.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,417 A$2,007

$980 MX$18.2K

44.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 A$1,745

$381 MX$7,095

223.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,154 A$3,051

$1,708 MX$31.8K

26.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,823 A$2,582

$1,075 MX$20.0K

69.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,343 A$7,569

$3,943 MX$73.5K

35.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,335 A$6,141

$6,158 MX$114.7K

-29.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.45

-48.47%

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

Last update for Sale: October 26, 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

Sale

$1.2K 49.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 69.1% $851

Groceries & Markets

Sale

$356 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 28.3% $101

Eating Out

Sale

$297 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 31.9% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sale

$273 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 49.9% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Sale

$152 6.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 26.5% $40

Getting Around

Sale

$101 4.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 50.1% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Sale

$85 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 21.3% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,417 in Sale 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 Sale versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sale

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

21:27 9:27 PM

16 h behind Sale

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,673

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.634 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.634 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sale Playa del Carmen 14,510 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Sale
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

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

Yes – Sale is pricier by about 107%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,744 per month in Sale and $1,806 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,417 in Sale.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,496 in Sale and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 52% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 65% 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 Sale at $2,496. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sale it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 52% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.