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 8.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 29.4% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Santa Cruz is 6.5% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 35.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.46 JMD 1,175

$11.88 MX$210

-37.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 JMD 9,947

$41.90 MX$740

50.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 JMD 1,377

$10.55 MX$186

-17.16%

Cappuccino

$4.39 JMD 692

$3.60 MX$63.5

21.94%

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

$1.37 JMD 216

$1.50 MX$26.45

-8.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 JMD 118

$0.91 MX$16.09

-17.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 JMD 384

$3.08 MX$54.4

-20.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 JMD 500

$4.47 MX$78.8

-29.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.32 JMD 681

$1.39 MX$24.54

210.79%

White Bread (500g)

$3.52 JMD 554

$1.90 MX$33.47

85.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 JMD 256

$1.60 MX$28.27

1.25%

Eggs

$3.61 JMD 569

$2.60 MX$45.97

38.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.94 JMD 1,723

$8.36 MX$148

30.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 JMD 1,021

$8.64 MX$152

-25.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.50 JMD 1,182

$10.91 MX$192

-31.26%

Apples (1kg)

$5.96 JMD 939

$2.61 MX$45.98

128.35%

Banana (1kg)

$3.16 JMD 498

$1.44 MX$25.46

119.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.26 JMD 671

$1.96 MX$34.55

117.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.04 JMD 479

$2.12 MX$37.34

43.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 JMD 323

$1.86 MX$32.87

10.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 JMD 319

$2.22 MX$39.20

-8.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.98 JMD 470

$1.02 MX$17.99

192.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 JMD 229

$1.04 MX$18.36

39.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.70 JMD 1,370

$4.05 MX$71.5

114.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.52 JMD 1,815

$10.18 MX$180

13.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 JMD 454

$1.69 MX$29.79

70.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 JMD 501

$2.62 MX$46.25

21.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 JMD 178

$3.15 MX$55.7

-64.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.26 JMD 514

$2.46 MX$43.49

32.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.45 JMD 1,016

$3.26 MX$57.5

97.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 JMD 204

$1.32 MX$23.36

-1.52%

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

$43.6K JMD 6.9M

$30.1K MX$531.0K

45.03%

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

$33.7K JMD 5.3M

$23.8K MX$419.3K

41.69%

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

$161 JMD 25.3K

$83.5 MX$1,474

92.39%

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

$21.92 JMD 3,453

$22.86 MX$404

-4.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.3 JMD 7,917

$30.04 MX$530

67.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

Cinema Ticket

$13.25 JMD 2,088

$5.12 MX$90.4

158.79%

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

$223 JMD 35.1K

$201 MX$3,541

10.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,530 JMD 398.7K

$5,318 MX$93.9K

-52.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.16 JMD 4,121

$35.73 MX$631

-26.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.52 JMD 4,020

$40.27 MX$711

-36.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 JMD 11.3K

$79.2 MX$1,398

-9.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.6 JMD 12.2K

$89.3 MX$1,576

-13.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$404 JMD 63.7K

$730 MX$12.9K

-44.58%

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: 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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