Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sosua and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,424 in Sosua, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sosua outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

68

Cost of Living Index in Sosua
Learn more

Sosua Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Sosua

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,424

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,424 per month in Sosua vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sosua $1,424
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,228 per month in Sosua vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sosua $2,228
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,033 per month in Sosua vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sosua $3,033
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Sosua costs about 18% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Sosua sits 5% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.80 DOP 591

$10.92 MX$205

-10.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.65 DOP 2,996

$43.37 MX$815

14.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.26 DOP 438

$11.78 MX$221

-38.37%

Cappuccino

$2.26 DOP 136

$3.81 MX$71.6

-40.68%

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

$1.01 DOP 61.1

$1.28 MX$24.10

-21.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 DOP 33.07

$0.78 MX$14.71

-29.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 DOP 146

$3.17 MX$59.5

-23.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 DOP 198

$4.93 MX$92.7

-33.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 DOP 79.6

$1.41 MX$26.43

-6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 DOP 90.3

$2.22 MX$41.66

-32.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 DOP 38.25

$1.42 MX$26.64

-55.63%

Eggs

$1.99 DOP 120

$2.52 MX$47.41

-21.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.22 DOP 436

$7.26 MX$137

-0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.63 DOP 339

$7.70 MX$145

-26.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.46 DOP 390

$12.69 MX$239

-49.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 DOP 183

$2.78 MX$52.3

8.99%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 DOP 45.88

$1.37 MX$25.71

-44.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 DOP 159

$2.55 MX$47.94

3.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.23 DOP 74.2

$2.12 MX$39.90

-41.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 DOP 105

$1.94 MX$36.43

-10.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 DOP 135

$1.89 MX$35.44

18.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 DOP 40.90

$1.15 MX$21.55

-40.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 DOP 24.01

$1.18 MX$22.16

-66.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.33 DOP 322

$4.30 MX$80.7

23.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.30 DOP 621

$9.95 MX$187

3.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.49 DOP 150

$1.58 MX$29.76

57.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 DOP 139

$2.67 MX$50.2

-13.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 DOP 194

$4.97 MX$93.4

-35.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 DOP 131

$3.33 MX$62.6

-35.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 DOP 355

$5.36 MX$101

9.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 DOP 76.3

$1.44 MX$27.14

-12.50%

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

$28.6K DOP 1.7M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

38.34%

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

$34.4K DOP 2.1M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

46.40%

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

$65.5 DOP 3,953

$84.8 MX$1,594

-22.76%

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

$27.83 DOP 1,680

$23.41 MX$440

18.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.55 DOP 1,964

$28.66 MX$539

13.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$7.30 DOP 441

$5.14 MX$96.6

42.02%

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

$245 DOP 14.8K

$207 MX$3,882

18.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,347 DOP 443.4K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

87.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.48 DOP 2,745

$43.35 MX$815

4.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.68 DOP 2,757

$41.44 MX$779

10.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.7 DOP 5,109

$74.2 MX$1,394

14.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 DOP 7,544

$89.3 MX$1,677

40.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$851 DOP 51.4K

$980 MX$18.4K

-13.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$783 DOP 47.2K

$381 MX$7,157

105.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,722 DOP 103.9K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

0.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,511 DOP 91.2K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

40.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,828 DOP 110.3K

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-53.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,705 DOP 102.9K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-72.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

11.45

18.43%

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

Last update for Sosua: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sosua

$783 55%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 51.4% $402

Groceries & Markets

Sosua

$199 14%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 28% $56

Eating Out

Sosua

$152 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 33% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Sosua

$135 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 17.5% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sosua

$126 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 8.7% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Sosua

$15 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 361% $53

Getting Around

Sosua

$14 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 260% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $851 in Sosua versus $980 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 $50 in Sosua versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $199 in Sosua vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Sosua wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Sosua

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:52 11:52 PM

22:52 10:52 PM

1 h behind Sosua

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,713

149,923

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 60.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.38 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Sosua
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

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

Yes – Sosua is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,136 per month in Sosua and $1,806 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 Sosua, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $851 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,424 in Sosua and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 15% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $245 per month in Sosua and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,424 in Sosua. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.