Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Luis Rio Colorado and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in San Luis Rio Colorado and in Playa del Carmen: $1,229 and $1,204 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in San Luis Rio Colorado
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San Luis Rio Colorado 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 Luis Rio Colorado

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,229

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,229 per month in San Luis Rio Colorado vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Luis Rio Colorado $1,229
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,860 per month in San Luis Rio Colorado vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Luis Rio Colorado $1,860
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,491 per month in San Luis Rio Colorado vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Luis Rio Colorado $2,491
Playa del Carmen $2,959

San Luis Rio Colorado costs about 2% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both San Luis Rio Colorado and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – San Luis Rio Colorado 10% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.95 MX$223

$10.92 MX$204

9.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.23 MX$621

$43.37 MX$810

-23.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.45 MX$177

$11.78 MX$220

-19.78%

Cappuccino

$4.19 MX$78.4

$3.81 MX$71.2

9.97%

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

$1.42 MX$26.52

$1.28 MX$23.96

10.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 MX$22.99

$0.78 MX$14.63

57.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 MX$59.1

$3.17 MX$59.2

-0.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.43 MX$120

$4.93 MX$92.2

30.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.41 MX$26.28

21.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.93 MX$54.8

$2.22 MX$41.43

31.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.88

$1.42 MX$26.48

23.94%

Eggs

$3.10 MX$57.9

$2.52 MX$47.14

23.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 MX$158

$7.26 MX$136

16.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.24 MX$135

$7.70 MX$144

-5.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.50 MX$215

$12.69 MX$237

-9.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 MX$53.7

$2.78 MX$52.0

3.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$1.37 MX$25.56

16.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.66

$2.55 MX$47.66

-23.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.20

$2.12 MX$39.67

-26.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 MX$27.76

$1.94 MX$36.22

-23.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.92

$1.89 MX$35.24

-3.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.11

$1.15 MX$21.42

26.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$19.47

$1.18 MX$22.03

-11.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.39 MX$82.0

$4.30 MX$80.3

2.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 MX$149

$9.95 MX$186

-19.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 MX$41.29

$1.58 MX$29.59

39.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 MX$75.1

$2.67 MX$49.91

50.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.82

$0.55 MX$10.34

25.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.51 MX$607

$26.62 MX$497

22.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$4.97 MX$92.9

-44.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 MX$41.19

$3.33 MX$62.2

-33.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.75 MX$201

$5.36 MX$100

100.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MX$28.04

$1.44 MX$26.98

4.17%

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

$24.2K MX$452.8K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

17.26%

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

$23.6K MX$441.3K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

0.64%

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

$46.01 MX$860

$84.8 MX$1,584

-45.74%

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

$32.95 MX$616

$23.41 MX$437

40.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.62 MX$553

$28.66 MX$535

3.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.11 MX$600

$57.1 MX$1,066

-43.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.37 MX$362

$28.91 MX$540

-33.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.45 MX$120

$5.14 MX$96.0

25.49%

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

$206 MX$3,841

$207 MX$3,860

-0.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,436 MX$82.9K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

12.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 MX$981

$43.35 MX$810

21.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 MX$855

$41.44 MX$774

10.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MX$1,921

$74.2 MX$1,386

38.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.7 MX$1,303

$89.3 MX$1,668

-21.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$572 MX$10.7K

$980 MX$18.3K

-41.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 MX$7,995

$381 MX$7,116

12.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$893 MX$16.7K

$1,708 MX$31.9K

-47.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$668 MX$12.5K

$1,075 MX$20.1K

-37.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,110 MX$39.4K

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-46.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,092 MX$20.4K

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-82.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.07

11.45

5.41%

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

Last update for San Luis Rio Colorado: October 24, 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 Luis Rio Colorado

$428 34.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 11% $47

Groceries & Markets

San Luis Rio Colorado

$263 21.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 3.1% $8.2

Eating Out

San Luis Rio Colorado

$213 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 5.2% $11

Clothing & Footwear

San Luis Rio Colorado

$122 9.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 8.3% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Luis Rio Colorado

$109 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 26% $28

Getting Around

San Luis Rio Colorado

$49 4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 2.9% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

San Luis Rio Colorado

$45 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 49.6% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $572 in San Luis Rio Colorado 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 $33 in San Luis Rio Colorado versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $263 in San Luis Rio Colorado vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Luis Rio Colorado

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:10 3:10 AM

05:10 5:10 AM

2 h ahead of San Luis Rio Colorado

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

176,685

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

San Luis Rio Colorado Playa del Carmen 3,040 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Luis Rio Colorado
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 Luis Rio Colorado vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Luis Rio Colorado is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,843 per month in San Luis Rio Colorado 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 San Luis Rio Colorado, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $572 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 2%.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,229 in San Luis Rio Colorado. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.