Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Santa Cruz is 38.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 35.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Santa Cruz is 19.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 38.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.97 BOB 20.59

$11.88 MX$210

-75.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.65 BOB 185

$41.90 MX$740

-36.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.23 BOB 50.1

$10.55 MX$186

-31.47%

Cappuccino

$2.79 BOB 19.36

$3.60 MX$63.5

-22.50%

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

$0.82 BOB 5.70

$1.50 MX$26.45

-45.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 BOB 4.94

$0.91 MX$16.09

-21.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.44 BOB 9.98

$3.08 MX$54.4

-53.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 BOB 13.25

$4.47 MX$78.8

-57.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 BOB 7.43

$1.39 MX$24.54

-23.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 BOB 9.69

$1.90 MX$33.47

-26.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 BOB 9.21

$1.60 MX$28.27

-16.88%

Eggs

$1.82 BOB 12.62

$2.60 MX$45.97

-30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.79 BOB 33.21

$8.36 MX$148

-42.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.19 BOB 29.05

$8.64 MX$152

-51.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.32 BOB 43.83

$10.91 MX$192

-42.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 BOB 19.36

$2.61 MX$45.98

6.90%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 BOB 6.28

$1.44 MX$25.46

-36.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 BOB 7.88

$1.96 MX$34.55

-41.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.01 BOB 6.99

$2.12 MX$37.34

-52.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 BOB 6.95

$1.86 MX$32.87

-46.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 BOB 6.45

$2.22 MX$39.20

-58.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 BOB 5.07

$1.02 MX$17.99

-28.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BOB 7.96

$1.04 MX$18.36

10.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.14 BOB 14.80

$4.05 MX$71.5

-47.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.36 BOB 51.0

$10.18 MX$180

-27.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 BOB 10.12

$1.69 MX$29.79

-13.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 BOB 13.74

$2.62 MX$46.25

-24.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 BOB 2.06

$0.51 MX$9.09

-41.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.33 BOB 148

$26.52 MX$468

-19.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 BOB 19.86

$3.15 MX$55.7

-8.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 BOB 9.91

$2.46 MX$43.49

-41.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 BOB 49.50

$3.26 MX$57.5

119.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.55 BOB 3.81

$1.32 MX$23.36

-58.33%

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

$28.5K BOB 197.4K

$30.1K MX$531.0K

-5.32%

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

$27.2K BOB 188.4K

$23.8K MX$419.3K

14.43%

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

$54.3 BOB 376

$83.5 MX$1,474

-35.02%

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

$22.29 BOB 154

$22.86 MX$404

-2.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.01 BOB 229

$30.04 MX$530

9.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.66 BOB 226

$51.9 MX$916

-37.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.06 BOB 153

$18.30 MX$323

20.55%

Cinema Ticket

$7.21 BOB 49.98

$5.12 MX$90.4

40.82%

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

$204 BOB 1,410

$201 MX$3,541

1.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,276 BOB 29.6K

$5,318 MX$93.9K

-19.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.28 BOB 293

$35.73 MX$631

18.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.84 BOB 338

$40.27 MX$711

21.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.9 BOB 582

$79.2 MX$1,398

6.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.0 BOB 430

$89.3 MX$1,576

-30.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$405 BOB 2,804

$947 MX$16.7K

-57.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 BOB 1,795

$483 MX$8,525

-46.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 BOB 5,068

$1,599 MX$28.2K

-54.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$649 BOB 4,501

$1,211 MX$21.4K

-46.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,516 BOB 10.5K

$3,996 MX$70.5K

-62.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$869 BOB 6,024

$6,402 MX$113.0K

-86.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 BOB 2,984

$730 MX$12.9K

-40.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

11.42

-41.59%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz: January 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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