Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Julians and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,257 in St. Julians, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in St. Julians
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St. Julians Living Index
59

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

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St. Julians

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,257

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,257 per month in St. Julians vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Julians $2,257
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,588 per month in St. Julians vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Julians $3,588
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $4,919 per month in St. Julians vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Julians $4,919
Playa del Carmen $3,000

St. Julians costs about 87% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

St. Julians sits 67% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.12 €17.90

$10.86 MX$201

85.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.0 €88.1

$44.21 MX$817

123.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.09 €9.87

$11.76 MX$217

-5.70%

Cappuccino

$3.27 €2.91

$3.68 MX$68.0

-11.14%

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

$3.06 €2.72

$1.34 MX$24.79

128.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.82 MX$15.24

131.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.57 €4.06

$3.06 MX$56.6

49.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.06

$4.94 MX$91.2

-7.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.47 MX$27.17

-15.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.22 MX$40.95

-21.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.38 €3.00

$1.48 MX$27.32

128.38%

Eggs

$4.54 €4.04

$2.49 MX$45.99

82.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.83 €16.75

$7.52 MX$139

150.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.64 €9.46

$7.96 MX$147

33.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.95 €15.97

$12.57 MX$232

42.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 €2.70

$2.78 MX$51.3

8.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 €1.83

$1.43 MX$26.37

43.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$2.62 MX$48.37

9.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.14 MX$39.49

86.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$2.02 MX$37.38

20.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 €2.12

$1.99 MX$36.74

20.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.14 MX$21.01

67.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.20 MX$22.18

-25.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.77 €6.02

$4.26 MX$78.7

58.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.21 €6.42

$10.02 MX$185

-28.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$1.54 MX$28.41

5.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.66 MX$49.17

-11.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 €2.27

$0.53 MX$9.73

381.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.59 €4.09

$4.90 MX$90.6

-6.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.47

$3.43 MX$63.5

-51.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.13 €34.80

$5.38 MX$99.4

627.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.45 MX$26.76

6.21%

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

$27.5K €24.5K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

30.02%

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

$39.5K €35.2K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

71.75%

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

$76.7 €68.2

$85.4 MX$1,577

-10.20%

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

$35.28 €31.38

$23.46 MX$434

50.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.16 €31.27

$28.43 MX$525

23.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$94.5 €84.1

$62.2 MX$1,149

51.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.97 €35.56

$28.68 MX$530

39.37%

Cinema Ticket

$11.39 €10.13

$5.10 MX$94.3

123.33%

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

$618 €550

$201 MX$3,715

207.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.9K €12.4K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

252.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$146 €130

$44.39 MX$820

228.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 €49.02

$41.35 MX$764

33.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €108

$72.7 MX$1,344

66.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$164 €146

$89.6 MX$1,656

83.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 €1,237

$979 MX$18.1K

42.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 €999

$373 MX$6,887

201.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,555 €2,273

$1,681 MX$31.1K

52.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 €1,816

$1,095 MX$20.2K

86.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,727 €5,094

$3,949 MX$73.0K

45.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,143 €2,796

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-48.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,426 €2,158

$738 MX$13.6K

228.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.22

11.45

-71.88%

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

Last update for St. Julians: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Julians

$1.1K 49.8%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 66.8% $751

Groceries & Markets

St. Julians

$342 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 24.4% $83

Eating Out

St. Julians

$285 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 29.8% $85

Clothing & Footwear

St. Julians

$219 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 49% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Julians

$147 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 6.7% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

St. Julians

$117 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 38.3% $45

Getting Around

St. Julians

$23 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 124% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,391 in St. Julians versus $979 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.

Salaries run about 229% higher in St. Julians, 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 $99.0 in St. Julians versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $342 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇹 St. Julians

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

05:51 5:51 AM

7 h behind St. Julians

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,792

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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St. Julians Playa del Carmen 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Julians
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. Julians vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Julians is pricier by about 87%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,385 per month in St. Julians 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,257 in St. Julians and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 87%.

Kindergarten costs $618 per month in St. Julians and $201 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 Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in St. Julians at $2,257. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Julians it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – 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 Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, St. Julians makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.