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 15% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 28.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Santa Cruz is 6.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 33.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.66 JMD 1,198

$11.85 MX$209

-35.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.9 JMD 9,834

$42.16 MX$744

49.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.65 JMD 1,354

$10.75 MX$190

-19.53%

Cappuccino

$4.33 JMD 677

$3.47 MX$61.3

24.78%

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

$1.37 JMD 215

$1.45 MX$25.65

-5.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 JMD 109

$0.90 MX$15.93

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 JMD 400

$3.05 MX$53.9

-16.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 JMD 496

$4.42 MX$77.9

-28.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.41 JMD 689

$1.37 MX$24.17

221.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.59 JMD 561

$1.87 MX$33.05

91.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 JMD 245

$1.54 MX$27.25

1.95%

Eggs

$3.53 JMD 552

$2.50 MX$44.18

41.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 JMD 1,716

$8.61 MX$152

27.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.45 JMD 1,009

$8.63 MX$152

-25.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 JMD 1,228

$11.02 MX$195

-28.77%

Apples (1kg)

$6.11 JMD 956

$2.75 MX$48.53

122.18%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 JMD 483

$1.43 MX$25.21

116.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.25 JMD 665

$1.87 MX$33.05

127.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.96 JMD 464

$2.17 MX$38.26

36.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 JMD 327

$1.88 MX$33.23

11.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 JMD 315

$2.25 MX$39.65

-10.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 JMD 464

$1.07 MX$18.85

177.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 JMD 225

$1.07 MX$18.95

34.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.54 JMD 1,336

$4.15 MX$73.3

105.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.28 JMD 1,765

$10.34 MX$182

9.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 JMD 439

$1.68 MX$29.64

67.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 JMD 499

$2.48 MX$43.84

28.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.80

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$468

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.07 JMD 167

$3.22 MX$56.8

-66.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.24 JMD 507

$2.48 MX$43.80

30.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.39 JMD 1,000

$3.11 MX$54.9

105.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 JMD 201

$1.26 MX$22.16

1.59%

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

$43.4K JMD 6.8M

$30.7K MX$541.1K

41.67%

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

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

$24.0K MX$424.3K

37.01%

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

$160 JMD 25.1K

$82.5 MX$1,456

94.33%

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

$21.79 JMD 3,408

$22.29 MX$393

-2.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.4 JMD 7,889

$30.02 MX$530

67.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$908

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$323

Cinema Ticket

$13.25 JMD 2,072

$4.98 MX$88.0

166.06%

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

$227 JMD 35.5K

$200 MX$3,530

13.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,440 JMD 381.7K

$5,304 MX$93.6K

-54.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.36 JMD 4,122

$35.71 MX$630

-26.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.86 JMD 4,045

$39.56 MX$698

-34.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.3 JMD 11.1K

$80.6 MX$1,422

-11.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.4 JMD 11.8K

$88.3 MX$1,559

-14.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,511

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$20.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$71.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$401 JMD 62.7K

$756 MX$13.4K

-47.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.15

11.42

-19.88%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz: March 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 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

Similar cities

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

Baku

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan

Minsk

🇧🇾 Belarus

Curitiba

🇧🇷 Brazil

Astana

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

Brasilia

🇧🇷 Brazil