Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Santo Domingo is 11.7% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 13.9% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Santo Domingo is 19.3% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 15.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.44 DOP 497
$11.99 MX$227
-29.61%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$51.2 DOP 3,016
$42.47 MX$803
20.65%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.6 DOP 447
$10.47 MX$198
-27.41%
Cappuccino
$2.63 DOP 155
$3.6 MX$68.2
-26.94%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1 DOP 58.7
$1.44 MX$27.16
-30.56%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.77 DOP 45.49
$0.89 MX$16.79
-13.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.49 DOP 147
$3.09 MX$58.5
-19.42%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.96 DOP 292
$4.58 MX$86.6
8.30%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 DOP 81.3
$1.38 MX$26.04
-
White Bread (500g)
$1.74 DOP 102
$1.85 MX$34.9
-5.95%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.49 DOP 87.9
$1.57 MX$29.68
-5.10%
Eggs
$2.21 DOP 130
$2.55 MX$48.3
-13.33%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.32 DOP 431
$8.61 MX$163
-14.98%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.41 DOP 377
$8.54 MX$161
-24.94%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.99 DOP 647
$10.98 MX$208
0.09%
Apples (1kg)
$3.34 DOP 197
$2.72 MX$51.4
22.79%
Banana (1kg)
$0.9 DOP 53.2
$1.51 MX$28.57
-40.40%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.93 DOP 172
$1.88 MX$35.63
55.85%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.92 DOP 113
$2.19 MX$41.42
-12.33%
Potato (1kg)
$2.46 DOP 145
$1.87 MX$35.3
31.55%
Onion (1kg)
$2.29 DOP 135
$2.19 MX$41.37
4.57%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 DOP 64.1
$1.07 MX$20.23
1.87%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 DOP 55.6
$1.09 MX$20.64
-13.76%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.86 DOP 345
$3.96 MX$74.9
47.98%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.3 DOP 724
$8.86 MX$167
38.83%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.77 DOP 163
$1.72 MX$32.53
61.05%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.21 DOP 189
$2.61 MX$49.37
22.99%
🚌 Getting Around
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.6 DOP 35.59
$0.52 MX$9.74
15.38%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$68.4 DOP 4,024
$26.59 MX$503
157.09%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.31 DOP 195
$3.24 MX$61.2
2.16%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.14 DOP 126
$2.38 MX$44.94
-10.08%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6 DOP 354
$3.11 MX$58.7
92.93%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 DOP 77.1
$1.31 MX$24.85
-
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.9K DOP 1.6M
$30.3K MX$573K
-11.24%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32K DOP 1.9M
$24K MX$453.6K
33.23%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$77 DOP 4,534
$84.2 MX$1,592
-8.58%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$25 DOP 1,472
$22.14 MX$419
12.92%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$35.56 DOP 2,093
$30.14 MX$570
17.98%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$36.33 DOP 2,139
$52 MX$983
-30.11%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$14.4 DOP 848
$18.72 MX$354
-23.08%
Cinema Ticket
$6.83 DOP 402
$5.07 MX$95.9
34.71%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$265 DOP 15.6K
$200 MX$3,787
32.50%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,208 DOP 483.2K
$5,333 MX$100.8K
53.93%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$61.1 DOP 3,597
$35.74 MX$676
70.98%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$50.9 DOP 2,996
$39.8 MX$753
27.84%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$97.5 DOP 5,742
$79 MX$1,493
23.50%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$116 DOP 6,853
$88.4 MX$1,671
31.72%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$560 DOP 32.9K
$965 MX$18.3K
-42.03%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$289 DOP 17K
$474 MX$8,968
-39.18%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,197 DOP 70.5K
$1,653 MX$31.2K
-27.55%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$685 DOP 40.3K
$1,202 MX$22.7K
-43.04%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,404 DOP 82.6K
$3,081 MX$58.3K
-54.45%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$908 DOP 53.4K
$7,529 MX$142.3K
-87.95%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Santo Domingo
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$580 DOP 34.1K
$792 MX$15K
-26.75%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
12.9
11.42
12.96%

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

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 28, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.