Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seria and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Seria: $567 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Seria
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Seria Living Index
59

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

Jump to prices

Seria

🇧🇳 Brunei

$567

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $567 per month in Seria vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Seria $567
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $904 per month in Seria vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Seria $904
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,242 per month in Seria vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Seria $1,242
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Seria is about 53% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Seria and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Seria 58% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.13 BND 4.00

$10.76 MX$199

-70.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.07 BND 34.64

$43.03 MX$795

-37.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.36 BND 6.86

$11.79 MX$218

-54.54%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.59 BND 2.04

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 BND 2.96

Cappuccino

$3.88 BND 4.97

$3.87 MX$71.4

0.26%

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

$0.91 BND 1.16

$1.37 MX$25.29

-33.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 BND 0.69

$0.84 MX$15.44

-35.71%

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)

$1.81 BND 2.32

$1.44 MX$26.55

25.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 BND 1.83

$2.23 MX$41.23

-35.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 BND 1.55

$1.47 MX$27.17

-17.69%

Eggs

$1.38 BND 1.76

$2.53 MX$46.71

-45.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.17 BND 7.90

$7.30 MX$135

-15.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 BND 5.64

$7.86 MX$145

-43.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.89 BND 13.93

$12.79 MX$236

-14.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 BND 4.09

$2.90 MX$53.6

10.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 BND 2.85

$1.44 MX$26.53

54.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 BND 3.82

$2.55 MX$47.07

16.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.55 BND 3.27

$2.06 MX$38.03

23.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 BND 2.15

$2.00 MX$36.97

-16.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 BND 2.66

$2.01 MX$37.07

3.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.74 BND 4.79

$1.19 MX$22.02

214.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 BND 0.98

$1.26 MX$23.23

-39.68%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.42 BND 29.96

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 BND 4.12

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 BND 1.38

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.42 BND 19.73

$4.40 MX$81.4

250.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 BND 5.14

$4.98 MX$92.1

-19.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 BND 4.15

$3.50 MX$64.6

-7.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.77 BND 15.06

$5.40 MX$99.8

117.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.30 BND 0.38

$1.47 MX$27.08

-79.59%

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

$43.5K BND 55.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

107.50%

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

$36.2K BND 46.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

51.47%

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

$61.8 BND 79.0

$84.2 MX$1,556

-26.66%

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

$15.66 BND 20.03

$23.99 MX$443

-34.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.1 BND 82.0

$29.02 MX$536

120.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.52 BND 35.20

$63.0 MX$1,164

-56.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.36 BND 6.86

$4.94 MX$91.3

8.50%

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

$216 BND 276

$204 MX$3,763

5.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,750 BND 12.5K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

147.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.04 BND 39.71

$43.60 MX$806

-28.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.71 BND 35.45

$43.12 MX$797

-35.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 BND 64.4

$75.8 MX$1,400

-33.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.16 BND 59.1

$88.6 MX$1,637

-47.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$716 BND 917

$754 MX$13.9K

-5.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.88

11.45

-66.11%

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

Last update for Seria: October 10, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Seria

$203 35.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 27.1% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seria

$142 25%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 3.1% $4.3

Eating Out

Seria

$94 16.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 116% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Seria

$70 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 61.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Seria

$38 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 90.6% $35

Getting Around

Seria

$20 * 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 160% $32

Accommodation & Living

Seria

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 5% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27.00 in Seria versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $203 vs $258 – making Seria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇳 Seria

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:25 11:25 AM

22:25 10:25 PM

13 h behind Seria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

30,097

149,923

💱 Currency

Brunei Dollar BND $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BND = 0.782 USD

1 BND = 0.695 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BND – Brunei Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇳 Brunei Dollar ($)

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.782 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 BND (1 BND = 0.695 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BND in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Seria Playa del Carmen 16,360 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Seria
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 114%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $850 per month in Seria and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $567 in Seria and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 114%.

Kindergarten costs $216 per month in Seria and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Seria, where all-in costs run around $567, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Seria it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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