Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Marta and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,436 in Santa Marta, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Santa Marta outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Santa Marta
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Santa Marta Living Index
59

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

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Santa Marta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,436

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Marta 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 Marta and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,436 per month in Santa Marta vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Marta $1,436
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,691 per month in Santa Marta vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Marta $1,691
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,946 per month in Santa Marta vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Marta $1,946
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Santa Marta costs about 19% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Santa Marta sits 6% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

Cappuccino

$3.85 COP 12.2K

$3.87 MX$71.4

-0.52%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 COP 4,834

$1.44 MX$26.55

5.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 COP 6,825

$2.23 MX$41.23

-3.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 COP 3,737

$1.47 MX$27.17

-19.73%

Eggs

$2.55 COP 8,070

$2.53 MX$46.71

0.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 COP 25.9K

$7.30 MX$135

12.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 COP 31.0K

$7.86 MX$145

24.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.43 COP 36.2K

$12.79 MX$236

-10.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$2.90 MX$53.6

42.41%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 COP 3,110

$1.44 MX$26.53

-31.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 COP 3,553

$2.55 MX$47.07

-56.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,308

$2.06 MX$38.03

-3.40%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 COP 2,881

$2.00 MX$36.97

-54.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 COP 4,888

$2.01 MX$37.07

-23.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 COP 3,081

$1.19 MX$22.02

-18.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 COP 2,037

$1.26 MX$23.23

-49.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 COP 13.0K

$4.40 MX$81.4

-6.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.44 COP 55.3K

$9.59 MX$177

81.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 COP 4,566

$1.59 MX$29.41

-9.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,507

$2.81 MX$51.9

-49.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 COP 3,086

$0.57 MX$10.47

70.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 COP 10.2K

$4.98 MX$92.1

-35.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 COP 4,104

$1.47 MX$27.08

-12.24%

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

$24.0K COP 75.9M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

14.13%

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

$33.6K COP 106.6M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

40.63%

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

$154 COP 489.7K

$84.2 MX$1,556

83.40%

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

$9.26 COP 29.3K

$23.99 MX$443

-61.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.25 COP 70.6K

$29.02 MX$536

-23.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.58 COP 100.1K

$63.0 MX$1,164

-49.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 COP 16.1K

$4.94 MX$91.3

2.63%

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

$204 MX$3,763

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K COP 34.1M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

173.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.9 COP 275.6K

$43.60 MX$806

99.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.5 COP 201.4K

$43.12 MX$797

47.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 COP 293.6K

$75.8 MX$1,400

22.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 COP 279.6K

$88.6 MX$1,637

-0.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 COP 3.5M

$1,008 MX$18.6K

7.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 COP 2.4M

$374 MX$6,911

98.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 COP 3.5M

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-35.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$628 COP 2.0M

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-43.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,098 COP 3.5M

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-72.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,216 COP 3.9M

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-80.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$534 COP 1.7M

$754 MX$13.9K

-29.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.54

11.45

70.66%

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

Last update for Santa Marta: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Marta

$743 51.8%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 49.6% $369

Groceries & Markets

Santa Marta

$263 18.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 1.6% $4.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Marta

$186 13%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 26.2% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Marta

$149 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 24.2% $36

Eating Out

Santa Marta

$46 * 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 337% $156

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Marta

$42 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 74.7% $31

Getting Around

Santa Marta

$7.1 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 640% $45

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,088 in Santa Marta versus $1,008 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 run about 41% higher in Playa del Carmen, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Santa Marta

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:24 3:24 AM

Same time as Santa Marta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Marta Playa del Carmen 1,730 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Marta
Playa del Carmen

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Yes – Santa Marta is pricier by about 19%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,153 per month in Santa Marta and $1,816 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,436 in Santa Marta and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 19%.

Groceries cost about 2% more in Santa Marta, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Santa Marta at $1,436. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Marta it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Marta makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.