Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stilbaai and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Stilbaai: $1,148 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $740 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

56

Cost of Living Index in Stilbaai
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Stilbaai Living Index
59

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

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Stilbaai

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,148

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,148 per month in Stilbaai vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stilbaai $1,148
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,832 per month in Stilbaai vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stilbaai $1,832
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,516 per month in Stilbaai vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stilbaai $2,516
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Stilbaai is about 5% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Stilbaai and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Stilbaai 15% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.91 R 196

$10.76 MX$199

10.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.22 R 761

$43.03 MX$795

7.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.10 R 100

$11.79 MX$218

-48.26%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R 39.28

$3.87 MX$71.4

-38.50%

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

$1.26 R 20.84

$1.37 MX$25.29

-8.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 R 15.77

$0.84 MX$15.44

14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.95 R 48.65

$3.10 MX$57.3

-4.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 R 59.1

$5.07 MX$93.6

-29.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 R 22.74

$1.44 MX$26.55

-4.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 R 20.69

$2.23 MX$41.23

-43.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.30

$1.47 MX$27.17

49.66%

Eggs

$2.97 R 48.89

$2.53 MX$46.71

17.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.94 R 147

$7.30 MX$135

22.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 R 114

$7.86 MX$145

-11.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.58 R 158

$12.79 MX$236

-25.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.62

$2.90 MX$53.6

-33.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 R 32.00

$1.44 MX$26.53

34.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.23

$2.55 MX$47.07

-35.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.06 MX$38.03

3.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.57

$2.00 MX$36.97

-22.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.20

$2.01 MX$37.07

-26.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.04

$1.19 MX$22.02

7.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R 19.49

$1.26 MX$23.23

-6.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.56 R 58.7

$4.40 MX$81.4

-19.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.97 R 98.4

$9.59 MX$177

-37.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 R 21.71

$1.59 MX$29.41

-16.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 R 35.46

$2.81 MX$51.9

-23.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 R 24.38

$0.57 MX$10.47

159.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.68

$4.98 MX$92.1

-88.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.16

$3.50 MX$64.6

-56.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 R 83.6

$5.40 MX$99.8

-6.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 R 25.00

$1.47 MX$27.08

3.40%

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

$35.0K R 577.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

66.88%

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

$31.2K R 513.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

30.39%

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

$114 R 1,883

$84.2 MX$1,556

35.72%

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

$28.76 R 474

$23.99 MX$443

19.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.29 R 647

$29.02 MX$536

35.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.60 R 521

$63.0 MX$1,164

-49.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.58 R 174

$29.14 MX$539

-63.69%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 145

$4.94 MX$91.3

78.74%

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

$267 R 4,405

$204 MX$3,763

31.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,885 R 113.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

74.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.3 R 928

$43.60 MX$806

29.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.76 R 540

$43.12 MX$797

-24.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 R 1,981

$75.8 MX$1,400

58.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 R 1,726

$88.6 MX$1,637

18.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 R 6,374

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-61.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 R 5,973

$374 MX$6,911

-3.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$739 R 12.2K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-56.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$742 R 12.2K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-32.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$864 R 14.2K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-78.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$663 R 10.9K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-89.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.45

-4.19%

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

Last update for Stilbaai: October 13, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stilbaai

$363 31.6%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 3.2% $11

Groceries & Markets

Stilbaai

$226 19.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 14.6% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stilbaai

$182 15.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 24.8% $45

Eating Out

Stilbaai

$173 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 16.9% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Stilbaai

$141 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 20.1% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Stilbaai

$49 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 48% $24

Getting Around

Stilbaai

$14 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 272% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $387 in Stilbaai versus $1,008 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 $46.00 in Stilbaai versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $226 in Stilbaai vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Stilbaai wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Stilbaai

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:05 2:05 AM

19:05 7:05 PM

7 h behind Stilbaai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stilbaai Playa del Carmen 12,940 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Stilbaai
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,722 per month in Stilbaai and $1,816 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 Stilbaai, 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 $1,148 in Stilbaai and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 5%.

Kindergarten costs $267 per month in Stilbaai 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Stilbaai, where all-in costs run around $1,148, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Stilbaai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Stilbaai – 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 Stilbaai. 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.