Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan del Sur and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan del Sur and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: San Juan del Sur is 37.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 18.2% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: San Juan del Sur is 5.9% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 20.9% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.09 NIO 150
$11.99 MX$227
-65.89%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$33.28 NIO 1,219
$42.47 MX$803
-21.64%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.71 NIO 209
$10.47 MX$198
-45.46%
Cappuccino
$2.35 NIO 86.2
$3.6 MX$68.2
-34.72%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.81 NIO 29.56
$1.44 MX$27.16
-43.75%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.68 NIO 24.77
$0.89 MX$16.79
-23.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.32 NIO 48.39
$3.09 MX$58.5
-57.28%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.06 NIO 75.4
$4.58 MX$86.6
-55.02%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.27 NIO 46.58
$1.38 MX$26.04
-7.97%
White Bread (500g)
$1.47 NIO 53.7
$1.85 MX$34.9
-20.54%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.18 NIO 43.26
$1.57 MX$29.68
-24.84%
Eggs
$1.95 NIO 71.3
$2.55 MX$48.3
-23.53%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.94 NIO 291
$8.61 MX$163
-7.78%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.22 NIO 228
$8.54 MX$161
-27.17%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.78 NIO 285
$10.98 MX$208
-29.14%
Apples (1kg)
$3.79 NIO 139
$2.72 MX$51.4
39.34%
Banana (1kg)
$0.89 NIO 32.67
$1.51 MX$28.57
-41.06%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.77 NIO 64.7
$1.88 MX$35.63
-5.85%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.27 NIO 83.3
$2.19 MX$41.42
3.65%
Potato (1kg)
$3.22 NIO 118
$1.87 MX$35.3
72.19%
Onion (1kg)
$2.26 NIO 82.9
$2.19 MX$41.37
3.20%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.06 NIO 38.68
$1.07 MX$20.23
-0.93%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.02 NIO 37.33
$1.09 MX$20.64
-6.42%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.64 NIO 96.7
$3.96 MX$74.9
-33.33%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.93 NIO 364
$8.86 MX$167
12.08%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.44 NIO 52.9
$1.72 MX$32.53
-16.28%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.26 NIO 82.7
$2.61 MX$49.37
-13.41%
🚌 Getting Around
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$0.52 MX$9.74
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.59 MX$503
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.52 NIO 55.7
$3.24 MX$61.2
-53.09%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
-
$2.38 MX$44.94
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6.97 NIO 255
$3.11 MX$58.7
124.12%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.3 NIO 47.56
$1.31 MX$24.85
-0.76%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$23.2K NIO 851.2K
$30.3K MX$573K
-23.32%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.3K NIO 962.9K
$24K MX$453.6K
9.57%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$42.09 NIO 1,542
$84.2 MX$1,592
-50.04%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$10.41 NIO 381
$22.14 MX$419
-52.98%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$36.05 NIO 1,320
$30.14 MX$570
19.61%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$29.98 NIO 1,098
$52 MX$983
-42.32%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.72 MX$354
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.93 NIO 290
$5.07 MX$95.9
56.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$123 NIO 4,499
$200 MX$3,787
-38.67%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,108 NIO 223.7K
$5,333 MX$100.8K
14.54%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$78.3 NIO 2,868
$35.74 MX$676
119.14%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$72.8 NIO 2,667
$39.8 MX$753
82.96%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$134 NIO 4,923
$79 MX$1,493
70.20%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$109 NIO 4,005
$88.4 MX$1,671
23.75%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$471 NIO 17.3K
$965 MX$18.3K
-51.18%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$405 NIO 14.8K
$474 MX$8,968
-14.69%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$961 NIO 35.2K
$1,653 MX$31.2K
-41.82%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$966 NIO 35.4K
$1,202 MX$22.7K
-19.64%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$3,081 MX$58.3K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$7,529 MX$142.3K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
San Juan del Sur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$275 NIO 10.1K
$792 MX$15K
-65.25%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.25
11.42
-10.25%

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

Last update for San Juan del Sur: October 29, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.