Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Antonio, TX and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,367 in San Antonio, TX, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in San Antonio, TX
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San Antonio, TX Living Index
58

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

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San Antonio, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,367

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,367 per month in San Antonio, TX vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Antonio, TX $2,367
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,599 per month in San Antonio, TX vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Antonio, TX $3,599
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,831 per month in San Antonio, TX vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Antonio, TX $4,831
Playa del Carmen $2,959

San Antonio, TX costs about 97% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Antonio, TX sits 74% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.06 $18.06

$10.92 MX$204

65.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.0 $71.0

$43.37 MX$810

63.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 $10.60

$11.78 MX$220

-10.02%

Cappuccino

$5.17 $5.17

$3.81 MX$71.2

35.70%

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

$2.65 $2.65

$1.28 MX$23.96

107.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 $1.74

$0.78 MX$14.63

123.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.40 $5.40

$3.17 MX$59.2

70.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 $5.84

$4.93 MX$92.2

18.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.41 MX$26.28

-19.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.31 $3.31

$2.22 MX$41.43

49.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.31 $4.31

$1.42 MX$26.48

203.52%

Eggs

$3.68 $3.68

$2.52 MX$47.14

46.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.28 $12.28

$7.26 MX$136

69.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.79 $11.79

$7.70 MX$144

53.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.72 $17.72

$12.69 MX$237

39.64%

Apples (1kg)

$4.69 $4.69

$2.78 MX$52.0

68.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 $1.55

$1.37 MX$25.56

13.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.47 $4.47

$2.55 MX$47.66

75.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.58 $3.58

$2.12 MX$39.67

68.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.48 $2.48

$1.94 MX$36.22

27.84%

Onion (1kg)

$3.04 $3.04

$1.89 MX$35.24

60.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.92 $1.92

$1.15 MX$21.42

66.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.18 MX$22.03

91.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.02 $10.02

$4.30 MX$80.3

133.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.75 $14.75

$9.95 MX$186

48.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$1.58 MX$29.59

70.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 $3.50

$2.67 MX$49.91

31.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.32 $1.32

$0.55 MX$10.34

140.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.02 $38.02

$26.62 MX$497

42.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 $3.43

$4.97 MX$92.9

-30.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.77 $1.77

$3.33 MX$62.2

-46.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.31 $24.31

$5.36 MX$100

353.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.44 MX$26.98

-32.64%

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

$36.9K $36.9K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

78.56%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

8.48%

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

$213 $213

$84.8 MX$1,584

151.57%

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

$73.4 $73.4

$23.41 MX$437

213.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$78.5 $78.5

$28.66 MX$535

173.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.23 $35.23

$57.1 MX$1,066

-38.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.42 $20.42

$28.91 MX$540

-29.37%

Cinema Ticket

$14.60 $14.60

$5.14 MX$96.0

184.05%

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

$1,283 $1,283

$207 MX$3,860

520.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.2K $19.2K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

388.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.3 $51.3

$43.35 MX$810

18.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.62 $49.62

$41.44 MX$774

19.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 $136

$74.2 MX$1,386

82.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 $150

$89.3 MX$1,668

68.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,437 $1,437

$980 MX$18.3K

46.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 $1,021

$381 MX$7,116

168.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,887 $2,887

$1,708 MX$31.9K

69.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,897 $1,897

$1,075 MX$20.1K

76.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,357 $4,357

$3,943 MX$73.7K

10.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,761 $1,761

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-71.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,901 $3,901

$735 MX$13.7K

431.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.44

11.45

-43.76%

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

Last update for San Antonio, TX: 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

San Antonio, TX

$1K 43.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 62.7% $640

Groceries & Markets

San Antonio, TX

$392 16.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 35% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Antonio, TX

$365 15.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 62.5% $228

Eating Out

San Antonio, TX

$295 12.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 31.3% $92

Clothing & Footwear

San Antonio, TX

$174 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 35.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

San Antonio, TX

$64 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 4.5% $2.9

Getting Around

San Antonio, TX

$56 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 9.2% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,437 in San Antonio, TX 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.

Salaries in San Antonio, TX are about 5.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in San Antonio, TX versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $392 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 San Antonio, TX

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

Same time as San Antonio, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,434,625

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Antonio, TX Playa del Carmen 1,510 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

San Antonio, TX
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

San Antonio, TX vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Antonio, TX is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,551 per month in San Antonio, TX 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 $1,437 in San Antonio, TX.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,367 in San Antonio, TX and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 97%.

Public transport costs about 30% 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 San Antonio, TX at $2,367. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Antonio, TX 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.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, San Antonio, TX makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.