Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucia and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,276 in Santa Lucia, rent and utilities included – about $860 less a year. The total is higher in Santa Lucia despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucia
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Santa Lucia Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Lucia

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,276

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Lucia and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Santa Lucia and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,276 per month in Santa Lucia vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Lucia $1,276
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,819 per month in Santa Lucia vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Lucia $1,819
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,361 per month in Santa Lucia vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Lucia $2,361
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Santa Lucia costs about 6% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Santa Lucia and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Santa Lucia 6% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.83 CUP 236

$10.92 MX$205

-9.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.34 CUP 728

$43.37 MX$813

-30.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.98 CUP 167

$11.78 MX$221

-40.75%

Cappuccino

$3.35 CUP 80.5

$3.81 MX$71.4

-12.07%

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

$1.11 CUP 26.66

$1.28 MX$24.03

-13.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 CUP 22.18

$0.78 MX$14.67

17.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.04 CUP 48.84

$3.17 MX$59.3

-35.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 CUP 71.1

$4.93 MX$92.5

-39.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 CUP 46.07

$1.41 MX$26.35

36.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 CUP 44.95

$2.22 MX$41.54

-15.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 CUP 36.83

$1.42 MX$26.56

7.75%

Eggs

$3.60 CUP 86.4

$2.52 MX$47.27

42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.21 CUP 149

$7.26 MX$136

-14.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 CUP 142

$7.70 MX$144

-23.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.15 CUP 268

$12.69 MX$238

-12.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 CUP 65.9

$2.78 MX$52.2

-1.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 CUP 37.59

$1.37 MX$25.64

14.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 CUP 49.49

$2.55 MX$47.80

-19.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 CUP 52.6

$2.12 MX$39.78

3.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 CUP 46.77

$1.94 MX$36.32

0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 CUP 42.87

$1.89 MX$35.34

-5.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 CUP 24.46

$1.15 MX$21.49

-11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 CUP 24.62

$1.18 MX$22.09

-12.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 CUP 95.3

$4.30 MX$80.5

-7.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.12 CUP 291

$9.95 MX$186

21.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 CUP 39.10

$1.58 MX$29.67

3.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 CUP 56.7

$2.67 MX$50.1

-11.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 CUP 5.00

$0.55 MX$10.37

-61.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.63 CUP 591

$26.62 MX$499

-7.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.27 CUP 78.5

$4.97 MX$93.1

-34.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 CUP 9.18

$3.33 MX$62.4

-88.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.19 CUP 365

$5.36 MX$100

183.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 CUP 24.46

$1.44 MX$27.06

-29.17%

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

$69.8K CUP 1.7M

$20.7K MX$387.3K

237.99%

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

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

$23.5K MX$439.7K

242.72%

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

$34.72 CUP 833

$84.8 MX$1,589

-59.05%

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

$14.96 CUP 359

$23.41 MX$439

-36.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$251 CUP 6,021

$28.66 MX$537

775.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.36 CUP 969

$57.1 MX$1,069

-29.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.78 CUP 355

$28.91 MX$542

-48.88%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 CUP 24.50

$5.14 MX$96.3

-80.16%

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

$164 CUP 3,939

$207 MX$3,871

-20.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,059 CUP 97.4K

$3,927 MX$73.6K

3.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 CUP 1,691

$43.35 MX$812

62.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 CUP 1,321

$41.44 MX$777

32.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 CUP 2,416

$74.2 MX$1,390

35.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CUP 2,546

$89.3 MX$1,672

18.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$548 CUP 13.1K

$980 MX$18.4K

-44.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$344 CUP 8,245

$381 MX$7,136

-9.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$755 CUP 18.1K

$1,708 MX$32.0K

-55.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$502 CUP 12.0K

$1,075 MX$20.1K

-53.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$334 CUP 8,024

$3,943 MX$73.9K

-91.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$368 CUP 8,836

$6,158 MX$115.4K

-94.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$55.8 CUP 1,338

$735 MX$13.8K

-92.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

11.45

-56.86%

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

Last update for Santa Lucia: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Santa Lucia

$344 26.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 10.8% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Lucia

$301 23.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 54.5% $164

Groceries & Markets

Santa Lucia

$245 19.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 3.8% $9.4

Eating Out

Santa Lucia

$164 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 23.3% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Lucia

$150 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 25.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Lucia

$42 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 58.8% $25

Getting Around

Santa Lucia

$31 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 64.6% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $548 in Santa Lucia versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 13 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30 in Santa Lucia versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $245 vs $255 – making Santa Lucia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Lucia

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:46 8:46 AM

Same time as Santa Lucia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.78 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Lucia Playa del Carmen 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Lucia
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Santa Lucia vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Lucia is pricier by about 6%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,914 per month in Santa Lucia and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santa Lucia, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $548 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,276 in Santa Lucia and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 6% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 7% less in Santa Lucia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,276 in Santa Lucia and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,276 in Santa Lucia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.