Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sun City and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,275 in Sun City, rent and utilities included – about $880 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sun City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
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Sun City Living Index
57

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

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Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,275

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,275 per month in Sun City vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sun City $1,275
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,947 per month in Sun City vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sun City $1,947
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,618 per month in Sun City vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sun City $2,618
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Sun City costs about 6% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Sun City and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Sun City 6% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.15 R 200

$10.67 MX$199

13.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.31 R 729

$43.80 MX$815

1.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 R 118

$11.79 MX$219

-39.27%

Cappuccino

$2.41 R 39.64

$3.79 MX$70.5

-36.41%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$1.30 MX$24.14

-2.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R 15.02

$0.83 MX$15.51

9.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R 40.70

$3.15 MX$58.6

-21.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 R 45.89

$4.93 MX$91.8

-43.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.10

$1.41 MX$26.22

-4.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.50

$2.20 MX$40.86

-43.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 R 28.06

$1.47 MX$27.40

16.33%

Eggs

$2.73 R 44.95

$2.50 MX$46.47

9.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 R 142

$7.29 MX$136

18.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 R 90.6

$7.95 MX$148

-30.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.89 R 146

$12.86 MX$239

-30.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 R 34.28

$2.90 MX$53.9

-28.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.56

$1.38 MX$25.74

39.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.85

$2.49 MX$46.36

-27.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 R 34.22

$2.03 MX$37.78

2.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 R 26.72

$2.02 MX$37.69

-19.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.01

$1.90 MX$35.42

-7.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 R 23.66

$1.14 MX$21.30

26.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 R 21.28

$1.24 MX$23.06

4.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 R 57.9

$4.27 MX$79.5

-17.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 R 97.6

$9.81 MX$183

-39.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 R 30.77

$1.59 MX$29.51

17.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 R 37.41

$2.75 MX$51.1

-17.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.84 R 30.24

$0.51 MX$9.58

260.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 R 13.30

$4.76 MX$88.6

-82.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R 15.14

$3.25 MX$60.5

-71.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.35 R 236

$5.39 MX$100

166.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.53 MX$28.44

2.61%

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

$35.6K R 585.2K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

67.70%

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

$34.0K R 560.0K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

46.33%

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

$226 R 3,724

$83.5 MX$1,554

171.12%

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

$39.15 R 644

$23.19 MX$431

68.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.06 R 626

$27.61 MX$514

37.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.91 R 476

$56.4 MX$1,050

-48.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.07 R 166

$28.19 MX$525

-64.28%

Cinema Ticket

$8.60 R 142

$5.00 MX$93.1

72.00%

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

$242 R 3,978

$207 MX$3,854

16.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,651 R 125.9K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

46.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.9 R 986

$43.45 MX$809

37.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.98 R 740

$42.54 MX$792

5.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,864

$72.8 MX$1,354

55.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 R 1,849

$88.4 MX$1,645

27.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 R 6,091

$995 MX$18.5K

-62.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$371 R 6,102

$382 MX$7,116

-2.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$646 R 10.6K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-61.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 R 12.0K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-32.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$705 R 11.6K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-81.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$737 R 12.1K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-88.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

11.45

-4.72%

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

Last update for Sun City: November 3, 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

Sun City

$371 29.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 3.1% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sun City

$304 23.8%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 55.8% $169

Groceries & Markets

Sun City

$219 17.2%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 17.7% $39

Eating Out

Sun City

$174 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 14.9% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Sun City

$149 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 25.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Sun City

$46 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 44.1% $20

Getting Around

Sun City

$13 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 295% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $370 in Sun City 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 $44 in Sun City versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $219 vs $257 – making Sun City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Sun City

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

07:39 7:39 AM

00:39 12:39 AM

7 h behind Sun City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,556

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 5, 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 5, 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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Between locations

Sun City Playa del Carmen 13,320 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Sun City
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

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

Yes – Sun City is pricier by about 6%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,913 per month in Sun City 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 Sun City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $370 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Interestingly, groceries are about 15% cheaper in Sun City – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

Kindergarten costs $242 per month in Sun City and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,275 in Sun City and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,275 in Sun City. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.