Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Struga and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Struga: $861 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Struga
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Struga Living Index
58

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

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Struga

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$861

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $861 per month in Struga vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Struga $861
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,317 per month in Struga vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Struga $1,317
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,772 per month in Struga vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Struga $1,772
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Struga is about 29% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Struga and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Struga 37% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.12 MKD 391

$10.92 MX$205

-34.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.20 MKD 1,606

$43.37 MX$814

-32.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 MKD 299

$11.78 MX$221

-53.90%

Cappuccino

$1.56 MKD 85.9

$3.81 MX$71.5

-59.06%

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

$1.82 MKD 100

$1.28 MX$24.07

42.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 MKD 65.8

$0.78 MX$14.70

53.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.68 MKD 148

$3.17 MX$59.5

-15.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MKD 166

$4.93 MX$92.7

-38.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 MKD 67.5

$1.41 MX$26.40

-12.77%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 MKD 40.01

$2.22 MX$41.62

-67.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 MKD 88.8

$1.42 MX$26.61

14.08%

Eggs

$1.96 MKD 108

$2.52 MX$47.36

-22.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 MKD 408

$7.26 MX$136

2.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.24 MKD 343

$7.70 MX$144

-18.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 MKD 697

$12.69 MX$238

-0.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 MKD 81.1

$2.78 MX$52.3

-47.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 MKD 74.4

$1.37 MX$25.68

-1.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 MKD 68.7

$2.55 MX$47.89

-50.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MKD 84.7

$2.12 MX$39.86

-27.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 MKD 49.03

$1.94 MX$36.39

-54.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 MKD 46.50

$1.89 MX$35.41

-55.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 MKD 32.64

$1.15 MX$21.53

-48.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MKD 30.24

$1.18 MX$22.13

-53.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.50 MKD 193

$4.30 MX$80.6

-18.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.65 MKD 256

$9.95 MX$187

-53.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 MKD 58.5

$1.58 MX$29.73

-32.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 MKD 78.0

$2.67 MX$50.1

-46.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 MKD 48.66

$0.55 MX$10.39

60.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.3 MKD 3,044

$26.62 MX$500

107.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.07 MKD 58.7

$4.97 MX$93.3

-78.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 MKD 33.28

$3.33 MX$62.5

-81.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 MKD 276

$5.36 MX$101

-6.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MKD 78.6

$1.44 MX$27.11

-0.69%

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

$33.1K MKD 1.8M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

60.19%

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

$25.9K MKD 1.4M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

10.44%

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

$100 MKD 5,507

$84.8 MX$1,592

18.08%

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

$10.81 MKD 595

$23.41 MX$439

-53.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 MKD 1,040

$28.66 MX$538

-33.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.03 MKD 1,102

$57.1 MX$1,071

-64.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.44 MKD 629

$28.91 MX$543

-60.43%

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 MKD 410

$5.14 MX$96.5

45.14%

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

$118 MKD 6,501

$207 MX$3,878

-42.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,583 MKD 87.1K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

-59.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.7 MKD 4,713

$43.35 MX$814

97.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.08 MKD 1,709

$41.44 MX$778

-25.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.0 MKD 3,905

$74.2 MX$1,393

-4.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.5 MKD 2,888

$89.3 MX$1,676

-41.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$278 MKD 15.3K

$980 MX$18.4K

-71.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 MKD 12.0K

$381 MX$7,150

-42.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$441 MKD 24.3K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-74.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 MKD 19.6K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-66.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,544 MKD 84.9K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-60.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,364 MKD 75.0K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-77.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$852 MKD 46.9K

$735 MX$13.8K

16.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.75

11.45

-67.25%

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

Last update for Struga: 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

Struga

$217 25.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 75.3% $164

Groceries & Markets

Struga

$184 21.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 38.2% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Struga

$130 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 5.4% $7

Eating Out

Struga

$124 14.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 63.8% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Struga

$108 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 3.3% $3.6

Getting Around

Struga

$63 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 19.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Struga

$35 4.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 92.7% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $278 in Struga 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.

Salaries run about 16% higher in Struga, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $29 in Struga versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $184 vs $255 – making Struga the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Struga

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:33 6:33 AM

00:33 12:33 AM

6 h behind Struga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,000

149,923

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Struga Playa del Carmen 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Struga
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 40%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,292 per month in Struga 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 Struga, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $278 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $861 in Struga and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Struga about 29% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 52% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Struga, where all-in costs run around $861, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Struga it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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