Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Luis and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in San Luis: $1,148 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $670 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in San Luis
Learn more

San Luis Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

San Luis

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,148

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,148 per month in San Luis vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Luis $1,148
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,952 per month in San Luis vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Luis $1,952
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,755 per month in San Luis vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Luis $2,755
Playa del Carmen $2,959

San Luis is about 5% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both San Luis and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – San Luis 16% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.51 ARS 13.1K

$10.92 MX$203

-22.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.8 ARS 78.5K

$43.37 MX$805

17.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.52 ARS 13.2K

$11.78 MX$219

-27.67%

Cappuccino

$2.16 ARS 3,337

$3.81 MX$70.7

-43.31%

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

$2.45 ARS 3,779

$1.28 MX$23.81

91.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 ARS 2,955

$0.78 MX$14.54

144.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 ARS 4,989

$3.17 MX$58.8

1.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ARS 6,913

$4.93 MX$91.7

-9.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 ARS 1,907

$1.41 MX$26.12

-12.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ARS 3,023

$2.22 MX$41.17

-11.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.05 ARS 1,620

$1.42 MX$26.32

-26.06%

Eggs

$3.02 ARS 4,660

$2.52 MX$46.85

19.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.64 ARS 22.6K

$7.26 MX$135

101.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.39 ARS 9,871

$7.70 MX$143

-17.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.98 ARS 17.0K

$12.69 MX$236

-13.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ARS 3,628

$2.78 MX$51.7

-15.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 ARS 3,308

$1.37 MX$25.41

56.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 ARS 2,000

$2.55 MX$47.37

-49.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 ARS 5,068

$2.12 MX$39.43

54.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 ARS 1,589

$1.94 MX$36.00

-46.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 ARS 2,326

$1.89 MX$35.02

-20.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.93 ARS 2,986

$1.15 MX$21.29

67.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 ARS 3,916

$1.18 MX$21.89

114.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 ARS 4,162

$4.30 MX$79.8

-37.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.88 ARS 7,541

$9.95 MX$185

-50.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,627

$1.58 MX$29.41

7.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 ARS 4,600

$2.67 MX$49.60

11.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.58 ARS 901

$0.55 MX$10.28

5.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 ARS 968

$4.97 MX$92.3

-87.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,505

$3.33 MX$61.9

-70.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.86 ARS 7,506

$5.36 MX$99.5

-9.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ARS 1,899

$1.44 MX$26.82

-14.58%

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

$27.2K ARS 42.0M

$20.7K MX$383.8K

31.53%

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

$33.6K ARS 51.8M

$23.5K MX$435.8K

43.01%

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

$40.66 ARS 62.8K

$84.8 MX$1,575

-52.05%

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

$16.99 ARS 26.2K

$23.41 MX$435

-27.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.71 ARS 38.2K

$28.66 MX$532

-13.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.53 ARS 51.8K

$57.1 MX$1,059

-41.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.75 ARS 33.6K

$28.91 MX$537

-24.77%

Cinema Ticket

$5.58 ARS 8,627

$5.14 MX$95.4

8.56%

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

$171 ARS 263.7K

$207 MX$3,836

-17.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,143 ARS 6.4M

$3,927 MX$72.9K

5.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 ARS 196.5K

$43.35 MX$805

193.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$143 ARS 220.3K

$41.44 MX$770

244.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 ARS 222.8K

$74.2 MX$1,378

94.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 ARS 246.3K

$89.3 MX$1,657

78.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$496 ARS 765.7K

$980 MX$18.2K

-49.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$321 ARS 496.4K

$381 MX$7,072

-15.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,116 ARS 1.7M

$1,708 MX$31.7K

-34.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$758 ARS 1.2M

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-29.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,307 ARS 2.0M

$6,158 MX$114.4K

-78.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

415.28%

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

Last update for San Luis: 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

San Luis

$321 28%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 18.5% $60

Groceries & Markets

San Luis

$272 23.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 6.2% $17

Clothing & Footwear

San Luis

$258 22.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 56.7% $146

Eating Out

San Luis

$162 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 24.9% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Luis

$82 7.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.2% $54

Sport & Entertainment

San Luis

$45 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 50.6% $23

Getting Around

San Luis

$7.8 * 0.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 544% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $496 in San Luis 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 $51 in San Luis versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Luis

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

05:38 5:38 AM

03:38 3:38 AM

2 h behind San Luis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,019

149,923

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,730 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Luis Playa del Carmen 6,390 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,722 per month in San Luis 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, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $496 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,148 in San Luis and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes San Luis about 5% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $171 per month in San Luis and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,148 in San Luis and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward San Luis – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.