Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stephenville and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,251 in Stephenville, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Stephenville
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Stephenville Living Index
59

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

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Stephenville

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,251

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,251 per month in Stephenville vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stephenville $2,251
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,245 per month in Stephenville vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stephenville $3,245
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $4,239 per month in Stephenville vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stephenville $4,239
Playa del Carmen $3,000

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

Stephenville sits 66% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.56 CA$24.82

$10.86 MX$201

61.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 CA$92.2

$44.21 MX$817

47.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.41 CA$14.72

$11.76 MX$217

-11.48%

Cappuccino

$3.61 CA$5.10

$3.68 MX$68.0

-1.90%

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

$1.94 CA$2.74

$1.34 MX$24.79

44.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.18

$0.82 MX$15.24

87.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.38 CA$7.61

$3.06 MX$56.6

75.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 CA$7.84

$4.94 MX$91.2

12.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.38 CA$3.36

$1.47 MX$27.17

61.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 CA$3.58

$2.22 MX$40.95

13.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.17 CA$4.49

$1.48 MX$27.32

114.19%

Eggs

$3.46 CA$4.90

$2.49 MX$45.99

38.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.07 CA$14.24

$7.52 MX$139

33.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 CA$16.02

$7.96 MX$147

42.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 CA$20.46

$12.57 MX$232

15.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 CA$5.26

$2.78 MX$51.3

33.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 CA$1.79

$1.43 MX$26.37

-11.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.57 CA$5.05

$2.62 MX$48.37

36.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.66 CA$5.17

$2.14 MX$39.49

71.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 CA$3.57

$2.02 MX$37.38

25.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 CA$3.06

$1.99 MX$36.74

9.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.13 CA$5.84

$1.14 MX$21.01

262.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 CA$2.29

$1.20 MX$22.18

35.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.10 CA$19.93

$4.26 MX$78.7

230.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 CA$15.13

$10.02 MX$185

6.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.60 CA$3.68

$1.54 MX$28.41

68.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 CA$4.16

$2.66 MX$49.17

10.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.23 CA$3.15

$0.53 MX$9.73

320.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.5 CA$87.0

$27.51 MX$508

123.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.78 CA$3.94

$4.90 MX$90.6

-43.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 CA$2.08

$3.43 MX$63.5

-57.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.36 CA$33.02

$5.38 MX$99.4

334.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 CA$1.62

$1.45 MX$26.76

-20.69%

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

$27.8K CA$39.3K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

31.43%

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

$19.1K CA$26.9K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-17.21%

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

$136 CA$193

$85.4 MX$1,577

59.85%

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

$37.91 CA$53.6

$23.46 MX$434

61.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.1 CA$75.1

$28.43 MX$525

86.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.46 CA$57.2

$62.2 MX$1,149

-34.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.91 CA$25.32

$28.68 MX$530

-37.55%

Cinema Ticket

$10.90 CA$15.41

$5.10 MX$94.3

113.73%

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

$754 CA$1,065

$201 MX$3,715

274.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K CA$18.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

233.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 CA$73.6

$44.39 MX$820

17.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.28 CA$52.7

$41.35 MX$764

-9.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.2 CA$120

$72.7 MX$1,344

17.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 CA$145

$89.6 MX$1,656

14.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,221 CA$1,725

$979 MX$18.1K

24.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,137 CA$1,607

$373 MX$6,887

204.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,971 CA$2,787

$1,681 MX$31.1K

17.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,716 CA$2,426

$1,095 MX$20.2K

56.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,180 CA$5,910

$3,949 MX$73.0K

5.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,511 CA$4,964

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-42.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.66

11.45

-59.30%

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

Last update for Stephenville: October 18, 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

Stephenville

$1.1K 50.5%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 67.2% $764

Groceries & Markets

Stephenville

$353 15.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 26.8% $94

Eating Out

Stephenville

$267 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 25% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stephenville

$227 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 39.7% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Stephenville

$125 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 10.4% $13

Getting Around

Stephenville

$81 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 35.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Stephenville

$62 2.8%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 16.3% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,221 in Stephenville 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65.0 in Stephenville versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $353 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Stephenville

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:57 2:57 AM

00:27 12:27 AM

2 h 30 min behind Stephenville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,600

149,923

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Stephenville Playa del Carmen 4,010 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Stephenville
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

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

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,377 per month in Stephenville 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 $2,251 in Stephenville and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 87%.

Public transport costs about 124% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Stephenville at $2,251. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stephenville 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.

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