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 14.6% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 29.9% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Santa Cruz is 24.5% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 34.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.63 JMD 1,215

$11.58 MX$212

-34.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63 JMD 10K

$42 MX$769

50.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.61 JMD 1,372

$10.5 MX$192

-18.00%

Cappuccino

$4.38 JMD 697

$3.43 MX$62.8

27.70%

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

$1.3 JMD 208

$1.49 MX$27.34

-12.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 JMD 112

$0.94 MX$17.27

-24.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.52 JMD 402

$3.08 MX$56.3

-18.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 JMD 509

$4.37 MX$79.9

-27.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.27 JMD 680

$1.39 MX$25.44

207.19%

White Bread (500g)

$3.51 JMD 559

$1.85 MX$33.81

89.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 JMD 257

$1.58 MX$28.88

1.90%

Eggs

$3.46 JMD 551

$2.51 MX$46

37.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 JMD 1,735

$8.26 MX$151

31.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.34 JMD 1,011

$8.7 MX$159

-27.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 JMD 1,250

$10.73 MX$196

-26.84%

Apples (1kg)

$6.17 JMD 983

$2.61 MX$47.74

136.40%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 JMD 500

$1.49 MX$27.28

110.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.17 JMD 665

$1.95 MX$35.72

113.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.96 JMD 472

$2.09 MX$38.26

41.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 JMD 337

$1.81 MX$33.05

16.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 JMD 310

$2.16 MX$39.62

-9.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3 JMD 478

$1.03 MX$18.85

191.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 JMD 237

$1.08 MX$19.7

37.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.93 JMD 1,422

$4.14 MX$75.9

115.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 JMD 1,770

$8.88 MX$163

25.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 JMD 449

$1.67 MX$30.64

68.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 JMD 501

$2.53 MX$46.31

24.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.68 MX$488

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 JMD 180

$3.26 MX$59.7

-65.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.27 JMD 521

$2.51 MX$45.94

30.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.23 JMD 993

$3.12 MX$57.2

99.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 JMD 204

$1.31 MX$23.96

-2.29%

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

$43K JMD 6.9M

$30.9K MX$565K

39.34%

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

$33.8K JMD 5.4M

$23.9K MX$436.9K

41.42%

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

$162 JMD 25.9K

$83 MX$1,520

95.52%

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

$22.49 JMD 3,583

$22.59 MX$414

-0.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 JMD 8,199

$29.51 MX$540

74.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 MX$944

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 MX$337

Cinema Ticket

$12.89 JMD 2,054

$4.9 MX$89.7

163.06%

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

$229 JMD 36.5K

$200 MX$3,668

14.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,492 JMD 397K

$5,179 MX$94.8K

-51.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.58 JMD 4,074

$36.41 MX$667

-29.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.64 JMD 4,085

$39.91 MX$731

-35.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 JMD 11.5K

$79.9 MX$1,462

-9.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.3 JMD 12K

$87.7 MX$1,605

-14.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MX$18K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 MX$8,612

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,610 MX$29.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 MX$21.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,839 MX$70.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,205 MX$113.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$394 JMD 62.8K

$724 MX$13.2K

-45.56%

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: December 1, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 30, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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