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

๐Ÿ™‚ Solo nomad: Santa Cruz, Laguna is 44.5% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 40.1% cheaper with rent.
๐Ÿ™‚ Family of 3: Santa Cruz, Laguna is 26.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 50.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
๐Ÿฝ Eating Out
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$1.75 โ‚ฑ104
$11.88 MX$210
-85.27%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$9.06 โ‚ฑ538
$41.90 MX$740
-78.38%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.06 โ‚ฑ182
$10.55 MX$186
-71.00%
Cappuccino
$2.08 โ‚ฑ123
$3.60 MX$63.5
-42.22%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.43 โ‚ฑ25.34
$1.50 MX$26.45
-71.33%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.28 โ‚ฑ16.84
$0.91 MX$16.09
-69.23%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.22 โ‚ฑ72.5
$3.08 MX$54.4
-60.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.08 โ‚ฑ64.4
$4.47 MX$78.8
-75.84%
๐Ÿ›’ Groceries & Markets
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.77 โ‚ฑ105
$1.39 MX$24.54
27.34%
White Bread (500g)
$1.21 โ‚ฑ72.1
$1.90 MX$33.47
-36.32%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.08 โ‚ฑ64.4
$1.60 MX$28.27
-32.50%
Eggs
$1.74 โ‚ฑ104
$2.60 MX$45.97
-33.08%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.19 โ‚ฑ308
$8.36 MX$148
-37.92%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.32 โ‚ฑ257
$8.64 MX$152
-50.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.02 โ‚ฑ417
$10.91 MX$192
-35.66%
Apples (1kg)
$1.57 โ‚ฑ93.1
$2.61 MX$45.98
-39.85%
Banana (1kg)
$0.56 โ‚ฑ33.00
$1.44 MX$25.46
-61.11%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.65 โ‚ฑ97.9
$1.96 MX$34.55
-15.82%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.69 โ‚ฑ101
$2.12 MX$37.34
-20.28%
Potato (1kg)
$2.76 โ‚ฑ164
$1.86 MX$32.87
48.39%
Onion (1kg)
$4.05 โ‚ฑ241
$2.22 MX$39.20
82.43%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.57 โ‚ฑ93.5
$1.02 MX$17.99
53.92%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.04 โ‚ฑ62.0
$1.04 MX$18.36
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.23 โ‚ฑ192
$4.05 MX$71.5
-20.25%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.46 โ‚ฑ444
$10.18 MX$180
-26.72%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.62 โ‚ฑ96.0
$1.69 MX$29.79
-4.14%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.01 โ‚ฑ120
$2.62 MX$46.25
-23.28%
๐ŸšŒ Getting Around
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.28 โ‚ฑ16.71
$0.51 MX$9.09
-45.10%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.52 MX$468
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.77 โ‚ฑ45.63
$3.15 MX$55.7
-75.56%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.22 โ‚ฑ13.05
$2.46 MX$43.49
-91.06%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.10 โ‚ฑ125
$3.26 MX$57.5
-35.58%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.14 โ‚ฑ67.7
$1.32 MX$23.36
-13.64%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.2K โ‚ฑ1.6M
$30.1K MX$531.0K
-13.00%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$20.2K โ‚ฑ1.2M
$23.8K MX$419.3K
-15.08%
๐Ÿงพ Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$93.8 โ‚ฑ5,576
$83.5 MX$1,474
12.33%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 โ‚ฑ1,993
$22.86 MX$404
46.72%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.72 โ‚ฑ1,766
$30.04 MX$530
-1.07%
๐ŸŽ‰ Sport & Entertainment
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$34.55 โ‚ฑ2,053
$51.9 MX$916
-33.43%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$4.49 โ‚ฑ267
$18.30 MX$323
-75.46%
Cinema Ticket
$7.07 โ‚ฑ420
$5.12 MX$90.4
38.09%
๐Ÿงธ Childcare & Education
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$82.1 โ‚ฑ4,877
$201 MX$3,541
-59.10%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,769 โ‚ฑ164.6K
$5,318 MX$93.9K
-47.93%
๐Ÿ‘•๐Ÿ‘Ÿ Clothing & Footwear
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$31.34 โ‚ฑ1,863
$35.73 MX$631
-12.29%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$29.91 โ‚ฑ1,777
$40.27 MX$711
-25.73%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$99.3 โ‚ฑ5,899
$79.2 MX$1,398
25.33%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$95.2 โ‚ฑ5,660
$89.3 MX$1,576
6.69%
๐Ÿ  Accommodation & Living
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$262 โ‚ฑ15.6K
$947 MX$16.7K
-72.34%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$176 โ‚ฑ10.4K
$483 MX$8,525
-63.65%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$597 โ‚ฑ35.5K
$1,599 MX$28.2K
-62.64%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$396 โ‚ฑ23.5K
$1,211 MX$21.4K
-67.31%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,751 โ‚ฑ104.1K
$3,996 MX$70.5K
-56.17%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$804 โ‚ฑ47.8K
$6,402 MX$113.0K
-87.43%
๐Ÿ’ต Salaries & Financials
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$730 MX$12.9K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.13
11.42
-28.81%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input โ€“ minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Santa Cruz, Laguna: January 10, 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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