Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de La Palma and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,643 in Santa Cruz de La Palma, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de La Palma
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Santa Cruz de La Palma Living Index
58

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

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Santa Cruz de La Palma

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,643

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz de La Palma 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 Santa Cruz de La Palma and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,643 per month in Santa Cruz de La Palma vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Cruz de La Palma $1,643
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,423 per month in Santa Cruz de La Palma vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Cruz de La Palma $2,423
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,203 per month in Santa Cruz de La Palma vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Cruz de La Palma $3,203
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Santa Cruz de La Palma costs about 36% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Santa Cruz de La Palma sits 21% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.09 €15.35

$10.92 MX$204

56.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.2 €50.5

$43.37 MX$808

29.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.24 €10.10

$11.78 MX$220

-4.58%

Cappuccino

$2.43 €2.18

$3.81 MX$71.0

-36.22%

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

$2.50 €2.25

$1.28 MX$23.90

95.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 €1.62

$0.78 MX$14.59

132.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.45 €3.10

$3.17 MX$59.0

8.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 €3.58

$4.93 MX$92.0

-19.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.08

$1.41 MX$26.22

-14.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.28

$2.22 MX$41.33

-35.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 €1.46

$1.42 MX$26.42

14.08%

Eggs

$3.31 €2.97

$2.52 MX$47.03

31.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.46 €12.09

$7.26 MX$135

85.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.18 €7.35

$7.70 MX$143

6.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.80 €14.20

$12.69 MX$237

24.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.78 MX$51.9

-6.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.37 MX$25.50

52.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 €1.88

$2.55 MX$47.55

-18.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.61 €2.35

$2.12 MX$39.58

23.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 €1.62

$1.94 MX$36.13

-7.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 €1.73

$1.89 MX$35.16

2.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.15 MX$21.37

15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 €0.62

$1.18 MX$21.98

-41.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.21 €5.57

$4.30 MX$80.1

44.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.75 €5.16

$9.95 MX$185

-42.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.09

$1.58 MX$29.52

-23.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 €1.88

$2.67 MX$49.79

-21.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 €1.44

$0.55 MX$10.31

190.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.40 €29.11

$26.62 MX$496

21.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 €3.61

$4.97 MX$92.6

-19.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.29

$3.33 MX$62.1

-56.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.84 €20.52

$5.36 MX$99.8

326.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.44 MX$26.92

20.14%

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

$33.8K €30.4K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

63.72%

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

$31.0K €27.9K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

32.24%

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

$143 €128

$84.8 MX$1,581

68.46%

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

$17.79 €15.98

$23.41 MX$436

-24.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.46 €26.46

$28.66 MX$534

2.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.18 €39.68

$57.1 MX$1,063

-22.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.89 €14.27

$28.91 MX$539

-45.04%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 €8.08

$5.14 MX$95.8

74.90%

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

$469 €421

$207 MX$3,851

126.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,421 €7,564

$3,927 MX$73.2K

114.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.8 €78.0

$43.35 MX$808

100.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.69 €32.96

$41.44 MX$772

-11.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 €82.2

$74.2 MX$1,383

23.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 €103

$89.3 MX$1,664

28.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 €809

$980 MX$18.3K

-8.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$684 €614

$381 MX$7,099

79.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 €1,226

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-20.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 €912

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-5.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,275 €2,942

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-16.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,247 €2,019

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-63.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,341 €1,204

$735 MX$13.7K

82.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

11.45

-71.18%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz de La Palma: October 25, 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

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$684 41.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 44.3% $303

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$266 16.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 4.3% $11

Eating Out

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$242 14.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 16.4% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$190 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 28% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$148 9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 24.6% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$62 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 8.3% $5.1

Getting Around

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$50 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 0.8% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $900 in Santa Cruz de La Palma 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.

Salaries run about 83% higher in Santa Cruz de La Palma. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $56 in Santa Cruz de La Palma versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de La Palma

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

22:32 10:32 PM

5 h behind Santa Cruz de La Palma

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,441

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz de La Palma Playa del Carmen 6,970 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz de La Palma
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

Santa Cruz de La Palma vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Cruz de La Palma is pricier by about 36%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,464 per month in Santa Cruz de La Palma and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $900 in Santa Cruz de La Palma and $980 in Playa del Carmen. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,643 in Santa Cruz de La Palma and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 27% cheaper.

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

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Santa Cruz de La Palma at $1,643. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Cruz de La Palma it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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 $1,643 in Santa Cruz de La Palma. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Cruz de La Palma makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.