Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Sao Tome and Principe and in Playa del Carmen: $1,214 and $1,215 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
60

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

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,214

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Sao Tome and Principe is 8.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 0.1% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Sao Tome and Principe is 9.8% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 14.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 STN 192

$10.97 MX$201

-19.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 STN 999

$44.85 MX$823

1.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.62 STN 188

$11.92 MX$219

-27.68%

Cappuccino

$2.42 STN 52.8

$3.80 MX$69.9

-36.32%

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

$1.74 STN 38.06

$1.31 MX$24.08

32.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 STN 24.57

$0.86 MX$15.72

30.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 STN 38.46

$3.21 MX$59.0

-45.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 STN 39.44

$5.01 MX$92.0

-64.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 STN 34.44

$1.46 MX$26.77

8.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 STN 33.42

$2.33 MX$42.72

-34.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 STN 42.63

$1.44 MX$26.48

35.42%

Eggs

$4.50 STN 98.3

$2.46 MX$45.20

82.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 STN 424

$7.70 MX$141

152.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.55 STN 427

$7.89 MX$145

147.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.90 STN 457

$12.80 MX$235

63.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 STN 81.2

$2.92 MX$53.6

27.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.50

$1.42 MX$26.11

23.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.3

$2.57 MX$47.10

39.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 STN 73.7

$2.14 MX$39.24

57.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 STN 63.9

$1.95 MX$35.75

49.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 STN 51.7

$1.94 MX$35.55

22.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 STN 11.06

$1.15 MX$21.13

-55.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 STN 43.32

$1.22 MX$22.42

62.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 STN 49.25

$4.38 MX$80.3

-48.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.12 STN 177

$9.85 MX$181

-17.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 STN 30.74

$1.54 MX$28.23

-8.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 STN 37.22

$2.72 MX$49.86

-37.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 STN 30.77

$0.52 MX$9.64

171.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 STN 37.81

$4.91 MX$90.2

-64.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 STN 57.8

$3.52 MX$64.7

-25.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 STN 304

$5.69 MX$104

144.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 STN 37.00

$1.54 MX$28.27

9.74%

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

$24.3K STN 531.2K

$21.2K MX$389.9K

14.47%

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

$31.1K STN 678.7K

$24.5K MX$449.6K

26.84%

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

$225 STN 4,918

$83.6 MX$1,535

169.23%

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

$31.43 STN 687

$24.03 MX$441

30.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 STN 1,477

$29.33 MX$539

130.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 STN 731

$64.9 MX$1,191

-48.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.52 STN 558

$29.46 MX$541

-13.37%

Cinema Ticket

$20.45 STN 447

$5.09 MX$93.4

301.77%

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

$228 STN 4,976

$208 MX$3,813

9.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 STN 47.2K

$4,045 MX$74.3K

-46.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 STN 1,656

$42.06 MX$772

80.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.52 STN 405

$91.4 MX$1,678

-79.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 STN 6,178

$986 MX$18.1K

-71.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,256

$385 MX$7,072

-49.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 STN 20.7K

$1,713 MX$31.5K

-44.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,627

$1,108 MX$20.4K

-60.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,860 STN 40.6K

$4,016 MX$73.7K

-53.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,129 STN 24.7K

$6,247 MX$114.7K

-81.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 STN 9,428

$758 MX$13.9K

-43.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

11.45

-35.55%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 6, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2% 35.2% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$324 26.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2% 57.7% $187

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4% 97.7% $190

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6% 36.7% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1% 0.9% $0.7

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3% 169% $72

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$21 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2% 153% $31

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

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:59 8:59 AM

03:59 3:59 AM

5 h behind Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

149,923

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.58 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

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