Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scottburgh and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Scottburgh: $1,105 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

52

Cost of Living Index in Scottburgh
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Scottburgh Living Index
57

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

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Scottburgh

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,105 per month in Scottburgh vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Scottburgh $1,105
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,736 per month in Scottburgh vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Scottburgh $1,736
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,368 per month in Scottburgh vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Scottburgh $2,368
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Scottburgh is about 8% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Scottburgh and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Scottburgh 18% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.66 R 142

$10.67 MX$199

-18.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.96 R 606

$43.80 MX$815

-15.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.09 R 99.9

$11.79 MX$219

-48.35%

Cappuccino

$2.59 R 42.58

$3.79 MX$70.5

-31.66%

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

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.30 MX$24.14

-15.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 R 13.38

$0.83 MX$15.51

-1.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 R 38.55

$3.15 MX$58.6

-25.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 R 38.40

$4.93 MX$91.8

-52.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R 20.27

$1.41 MX$26.22

-12.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.96 R 15.73

$2.20 MX$40.86

-56.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.43

$1.47 MX$27.40

1.36%

Eggs

$2.29 R 37.56

$2.50 MX$46.46

-8.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.04 R 132

$7.29 MX$136

10.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.21 R 85.5

$7.95 MX$148

-34.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.26 R 119

$12.86 MX$239

-43.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.97 R 32.35

$2.90 MX$53.9

-32.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.58

$1.38 MX$25.74

34.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 R 31.89

$2.49 MX$46.35

-22.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 R 26.32

$2.03 MX$37.77

-21.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 R 24.75

$2.02 MX$37.68

-25.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.43

$1.90 MX$35.42

-27.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 R 18.98

$1.14 MX$21.30

1.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R 19.41

$1.24 MX$23.05

-4.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.54 R 58.0

$4.27 MX$79.5

-17.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.87 R 80.0

$9.81 MX$183

-50.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 R 24.56

$1.59 MX$29.51

-5.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 R 33.14

$2.75 MX$51.1

-26.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.88 R 30.91

$0.51 MX$9.58

268.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 R 7.16

$4.76 MX$88.6

-90.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R 11.60

$3.25 MX$60.5

-78.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.73 R 127

$5.39 MX$100

43.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 R 24.58

$1.53 MX$28.44

-1.96%

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

$35.9K R 589.8K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

69.47%

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

$34.1K R 559.4K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

46.55%

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

$149 R 2,446

$83.5 MX$1,554

78.54%

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

$38.28 R 628

$23.19 MX$431

65.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.10 R 642

$27.61 MX$514

41.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.86 R 506

$56.4 MX$1,050

-45.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.26 R 218

$28.19 MX$525

-52.96%

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 R 124

$5.00 MX$93.1

50.80%

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

$311 R 5,108

$207 MX$3,854

50.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,387 R 121.2K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

41.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 R 861

$43.45 MX$809

20.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.25 R 447

$42.54 MX$792

-35.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.5 R 1,567

$72.8 MX$1,354

31.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.8 R 1,376

$88.4 MX$1,645

-5.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$361 R 5,930

$995 MX$18.5K

-63.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$368 R 6,046

$382 MX$7,116

-3.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$821 R 13.5K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-50.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 R 13.0K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-26.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$759 R 12.5K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-80.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$715 R 11.7K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-88.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.7

11.45

2.18%

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

Last update for Scottburgh: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scottburgh

$368 33.4%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 3.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scottburgh

$226 20.5%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 40.7% $92

Groceries & Markets

Scottburgh

$193 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 33.2% $64

Eating Out

Scottburgh

$143 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 40.2% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Scottburgh

$117 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 4.6% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Scottburgh

$46 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 44.6% $21

Getting Around

Scottburgh

$12 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 338% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $361 in Scottburgh versus $995 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37 in Scottburgh versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $193 vs $257 – making Scottburgh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Scottburgh

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:55 2:55 AM

19:55 7:55 PM

7 h behind Scottburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,949

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Scottburgh Playa del Carmen 13,760 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Scottburgh
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 9%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,657 per month in Scottburgh and $1,804 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 Scottburgh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $361 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,105 in Scottburgh and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Scottburgh about 8% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $311 per month in Scottburgh and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,105 in Scottburgh and $1,202 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 $1,105 in Scottburgh to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.