Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucia and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucia and Playa del Carmen

😐 Solo nomad: Santa Lucia is 22.2% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 1.5% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Santa Lucia is 9.7% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 23.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.17 CUP 244

$11.85 MX$211

-14.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.89 CUP 717

$42.16 MX$750

-29.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.03 CUP 169

$10.75 MX$191

-34.60%

Cappuccino

$3.37 CUP 80.9

$3.47 MX$61.8

-2.88%

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

$1.12 CUP 26.98

$1.45 MX$25.85

-22.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 CUP 21.20

$0.90 MX$16.06

-2.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.99 CUP 47.74

$3.05 MX$54.3

-34.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 CUP 71.4

$4.42 MX$78.6

-32.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 CUP 47.74

$1.37 MX$24.36

45.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 CUP 43.56

$1.87 MX$33.31

-3.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 CUP 34.97

$1.54 MX$27.46

-5.19%

Eggs

$3.71 CUP 89.0

$2.50 MX$44.53

48.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.34 CUP 152

$8.61 MX$153

-26.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.70 CUP 137

$8.63 MX$154

-33.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 CUP 267

$11.02 MX$196

1.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 CUP 68.1

$2.75 MX$48.91

3.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 CUP 36.60

$1.43 MX$25.41

6.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 CUP 49.70

$1.87 MX$33.32

10.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 CUP 54.6

$2.17 MX$38.56

4.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 CUP 48.31

$1.88 MX$33.50

6.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 CUP 41.32

$2.25 MX$39.96

-23.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 CUP 23.42

$1.07 MX$18.99

-8.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 CUP 23.44

$1.07 MX$19.10

-8.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 CUP 98.9

$4.15 MX$73.9

-0.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.98 CUP 288

$10.34 MX$184

15.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 CUP 40.60

$1.68 MX$29.87

0.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 CUP 55.9

$2.48 MX$44.19

-6.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 CUP 4.53

$0.55 MX$9.87

-65.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.64 CUP 591

$26.53 MX$472

-7.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 CUP 77.0

$3.22 MX$57.2

-0.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 CUP 9.16

$2.48 MX$44.15

-84.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.75 CUP 354

$3.11 MX$55.3

374.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 CUP 25.52

$1.26 MX$22.34

-15.87%

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

$70.1K CUP 1.7M

$30.7K MX$545.4K

128.81%

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

$79.3K CUP 1.9M

$24.0K MX$427.6K

229.95%

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

$34.54 CUP 829

$82.5 MX$1,467

-58.12%

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

$15.14 CUP 363

$22.29 MX$396

-32.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$250 CUP 6,012

$30.02 MX$534

734.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.62 CUP 975

$51.4 MX$915

-21.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.87 CUP 357

$18.29 MX$325

-18.70%

Cinema Ticket

$1.01 CUP 24.34

$4.98 MX$88.7

-79.72%

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

$165 CUP 3,957

$200 MX$3,558

-17.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,954 CUP 94.9K

$5,304 MX$94.4K

-25.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 CUP 1,694

$35.71 MX$635

97.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 CUP 1,330

$39.56 MX$704

40.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 CUP 2,440

$80.6 MX$1,433

26.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 CUP 2,519

$88.3 MX$1,571

18.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$548 CUP 13.1K

$969 MX$17.2K

-43.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$350 CUP 8,401

$482 MX$8,579

-27.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 CUP 17.9K

$1,595 MX$28.4K

-53.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$493 CUP 11.8K

$1,184 MX$21.1K

-58.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$338 CUP 8,104

$4,050 MX$72.1K

-91.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$373 CUP 8,942

$6,522 MX$116.0K

-94.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$56.3 CUP 1,352

$756 MX$13.5K

-92.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

11.42

-56.74%

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

Last update for Santa Lucia: 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

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