Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pedro de Atacama and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama: $1,078 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

51

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro de Atacama
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San Pedro de Atacama Living Index
57

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

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San Pedro de Atacama

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,078

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,078 per month in San Pedro de Atacama vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Pedro de Atacama $1,078
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,628 per month in San Pedro de Atacama vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Pedro de Atacama $1,628
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,178 per month in San Pedro de Atacama vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

San Pedro de Atacama $2,178
Playa del Carmen $2,962

San Pedro de Atacama is about 10% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both San Pedro de Atacama and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – San Pedro de Atacama 20% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.15 CLP 7,000

$10.67 MX$200

-32.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.87 CLP 43.9K

$43.80 MX$819

2.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.20 CLP 8,030

$11.79 MX$220

-30.45%

Cappuccino

$2.80 CLP 2,742

$3.79 MX$70.8

-26.12%

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

$1.58 CLP 1,546

$1.30 MX$24.26

21.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 CLP 1,149

$0.83 MX$15.59

40.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 CLP 3,387

$3.15 MX$58.9

9.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 CLP 3,812

$4.93 MX$92.3

-21.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 CLP 1,155

$1.41 MX$26.35

-16.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 CLP 1,444

$2.20 MX$41.07

-33.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 CLP 1,604

$1.47 MX$27.54

11.56%

Eggs

$3.70 CLP 3,627

$2.50 MX$46.70

48.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.32 CLP 10.1K

$7.29 MX$136

41.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.68 CLP 6,543

$7.95 MX$149

-15.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.69 CLP 11.4K

$12.86 MX$241

-9.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 CLP 1,946

$2.90 MX$54.2

-31.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 CLP 1,534

$1.38 MX$25.87

13.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 CLP 1,732

$2.49 MX$46.59

-28.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 CLP 1,698

$2.03 MX$37.97

-14.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 CLP 1,626

$2.02 MX$37.88

-17.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 CLP 1,512

$1.90 MX$35.60

-18.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 CLP 1,327

$1.14 MX$21.41

19.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 CLP 1,200

$1.24 MX$23.17

-0.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 CLP 5,076

$4.27 MX$79.9

21.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.22 CLP 5,114

$9.81 MX$184

-46.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 CLP 1,583

$1.59 MX$29.66

1.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 CLP 2,121

$2.75 MX$51.3

-21.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 CLP 612

$0.51 MX$9.63

21.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.70 CLP 681

$4.76 MX$89.1

-85.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 CLP 1,348

$1.53 MX$28.58

-9.80%

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

$17.9K CLP 17.5M

$21.2K MX$396.8K

-15.69%

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

$19.3K CLP 18.9M

$23.3K MX$435.1K

-17.09%

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

$134 CLP 131.5K

$83.5 MX$1,562

60.85%

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

$13.70 CLP 13.4K

$23.19 MX$434

-40.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.72 CLP 21.3K

$27.61 MX$516

-21.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.10 CLP 37.3K

$56.4 MX$1,056

-32.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.29 CLP 22.8K

$28.19 MX$527

-17.38%

Cinema Ticket

$5.32 CLP 5,212

$5.00 MX$93.5

6.40%

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

$386 CLP 377.7K

$207 MX$3,873

86.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,304 CLP 8.1M

$5,231 MX$97.8K

58.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.49 CLP 46.5K

$43.45 MX$813

9.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.06 CLP 24.5K

$42.54 MX$796

-41.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.7 CLP 59.4K

$72.8 MX$1,361

-16.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.5 CLP 79.8K

$88.4 MX$1,653

-7.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$484 CLP 473.8K

$995 MX$18.6K

-51.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 CLP 366.9K

$382 MX$7,152

-2.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$889 CLP 870.9K

$1,674 MX$31.3K

-46.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 CLP 572.2K

$1,081 MX$20.2K

-45.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,309 CLP 2.3M

$3,909 MX$73.1K

-40.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

11.45

-56.24%

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

Last update for San Pedro de Atacama: November 3, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

San Pedro de Atacama

$375 34.8%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 2% $7.7

Groceries & Markets

San Pedro de Atacama

$234 21.7%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 10.2% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Pedro de Atacama

$170 15.7%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 20.9% $35

Eating Out

San Pedro de Atacama

$152 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 32.2% $49

Clothing & Footwear

San Pedro de Atacama

$97 9%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 15.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

San Pedro de Atacama

$49 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 36.3% $18

Getting Around

San Pedro de Atacama

$3.2 * 0.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1477% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $484 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $995 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 $45 in San Pedro de Atacama versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in San Pedro de Atacama vs $257 in Playa del Carmen – so San Pedro de Atacama wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇱 San Pedro de Atacama

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

18:59 6:59 PM

2 h behind San Pedro de Atacama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,347

149,923

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.21 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.14 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 979 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,094 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.14 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Pedro de Atacama Playa del Carmen 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

San Pedro de Atacama
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 Pedro de Atacama vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,617 per month in San Pedro de Atacama and $1,804 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 Pedro de Atacama, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $484 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 10% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Kindergarten costs $386 per month in San Pedro de Atacama 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 $1,078 in San Pedro de Atacama and $1,202 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 $1,078 in San Pedro de Atacama to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.