Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Francis Bay and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index
57

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

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St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $979 per month in St Francis Bay vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St Francis Bay $979
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,629 per month in St Francis Bay vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St Francis Bay $1,629
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,279 per month in St Francis Bay vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St Francis Bay $2,279
Playa del Carmen $2,962

St Francis Bay is about 19% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both St Francis Bay and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – St Francis Bay 28% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.81 R 178

$10.67 MX$199

1.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.74 R 687

$43.80 MX$815

-4.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.53 R 58.1

$11.79 MX$219

-70.06%

Cappuccino

$2.14 R 35.16

$3.79 MX$70.5

-43.54%

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

$1.01 R 16.66

$1.30 MX$24.14

-22.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.93

$0.83 MX$15.51

-13.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 R 33.81

$3.15 MX$58.6

-34.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 R 30.32

$4.93 MX$91.8

-62.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 R 15.47

$1.41 MX$26.22

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 R 16.37

$2.20 MX$40.86

-54.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.70

$1.47 MX$27.40

2.04%

Eggs

$2.70 R 44.44

$2.50 MX$46.47

8.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 R 117

$7.29 MX$136

-2.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 R 85.9

$7.95 MX$148

-34.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.63 R 142

$12.86 MX$239

-32.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.80

$2.90 MX$53.9

-24.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.38 MX$25.74

5.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.03

$2.49 MX$46.36

-31.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.70

$2.03 MX$37.78

-10.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.56

$2.02 MX$37.69

-13.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.62

$1.90 MX$35.42

-27.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.35

$1.14 MX$21.30

8.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.88

$1.24 MX$23.06

-16.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.6

$4.27 MX$79.5

-26.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.74 R 77.9

$9.81 MX$183

-51.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.90

$1.59 MX$29.51

-20.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 R 29.80

$2.75 MX$51.1

-34.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 R 29.24

$0.51 MX$9.58

249.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 R 13.47

$4.76 MX$88.6

-82.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 R 7.53

$3.25 MX$60.5

-85.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.62 R 142

$5.39 MX$100

59.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R 21.50

$1.53 MX$28.44

-14.38%

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

$21.0K R 345.5K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

-0.99%

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

$35.2K R 578.5K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

51.16%

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

$60.8 R 999

$83.5 MX$1,554

-27.24%

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

$34.39 R 566

$23.19 MX$431

48.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.35 R 680

$27.61 MX$514

49.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.64 R 471

$56.4 MX$1,050

-49.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.00 R 197

$28.19 MX$525

-57.43%

Cinema Ticket

$9.20 R 151

$5.00 MX$93.1

84.00%

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

$179 R 2,941

$207 MX$3,854

-13.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,135 R 100.9K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

17.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.9 R 1,182

$43.45 MX$809

65.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 R 647

$42.54 MX$792

-7.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 R 1,846

$72.8 MX$1,354

54.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.1 R 1,564

$88.4 MX$1,645

7.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$420 R 6,910

$995 MX$18.5K

-57.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 R 5,069

$382 MX$7,116

-19.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 R 13.7K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-50.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 R 11.7K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-34.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$784 R 12.9K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-79.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$648 R 10.7K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-89.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

11.45

4.28%

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

Last update for St Francis Bay: 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

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 24.1% $74

Groceries & Markets

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 35.7% $68

Eating Out

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 39.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 22.4% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Francis Bay

$136 14%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 1.6% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 41.2% $19

Getting Around

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 394% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $420 in St Francis Bay 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 $42 in St Francis Bay versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $190 vs $257 – making St Francis Bay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:21 9:21 PM

14:21 2:21 PM

7 h behind St Francis Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,910

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.08 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 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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Highest

Between locations

St Francis Bay Playa del Carmen 13,250 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

St Francis Bay
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

St Francis Bay vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 23%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,468 per month in St Francis Bay 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 St Francis Bay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $420 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $979 in St Francis Bay and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes St Francis Bay about 19% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $179 per month in St Francis Bay and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in St Francis Bay, where all-in costs run around $979, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In St Francis Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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