Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sunny Beach and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Sunny Beach: $1,038 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sunny Beach
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Sunny Beach Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Sunny Beach

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,038

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,038 per month in Sunny Beach vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sunny Beach $1,038
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,578 per month in Sunny Beach vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sunny Beach $1,578
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,117 per month in Sunny Beach vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sunny Beach $2,117
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Sunny Beach is about 14% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Sunny Beach and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Sunny Beach 23% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.39 BGN 14.59

$10.76 MX$199

-22.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.87 BGN 78.1

$43.03 MX$795

4.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.63 BGN 16.75

$11.79 MX$218

-18.32%

Cappuccino

$2.86 BGN 4.98

$3.87 MX$71.4

-26.10%

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

$1.74 BGN 3.02

$1.37 MX$25.29

27.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 BGN 2.71

$0.84 MX$15.44

85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.31 BGN 4.03

$3.10 MX$57.3

-25.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 BGN 3.02

$5.07 MX$93.6

-65.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 BGN 3.06

$1.44 MX$26.55

22.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 BGN 1.30

$2.23 MX$41.23

-66.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 BGN 3.79

$1.47 MX$27.17

48.30%

Eggs

$3.69 BGN 6.42

$2.53 MX$46.71

45.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.40 BGN 14.61

$7.30 MX$135

15.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.56 BGN 14.90

$7.86 MX$145

8.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.28 BGN 24.85

$12.79 MX$236

11.65%

Apples (1kg)

$1.70 BGN 2.95

$2.90 MX$53.6

-41.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 BGN 3.08

$1.44 MX$26.53

22.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 BGN 3.32

$2.55 MX$47.07

-25.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.63 BGN 4.57

$2.06 MX$38.03

27.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 BGN 1.87

$2.00 MX$36.97

-46.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 BGN 1.83

$2.01 MX$37.07

-47.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 BGN 2.02

$1.19 MX$22.02

-2.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 BGN 1.24

$1.26 MX$23.23

-43.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 BGN 7.13

$4.40 MX$81.4

-6.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.27 BGN 10.92

$9.59 MX$177

-34.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 BGN 1.96

$1.59 MX$29.41

-28.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 BGN 3.58

$2.81 MX$51.9

-26.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.13 BGN 1.97

$0.57 MX$10.47

98.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 BGN 2.21

$4.98 MX$92.1

-74.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.12

$3.50 MX$64.6

-81.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.32 BGN 17.96

$5.40 MX$99.8

91.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 BGN 2.75

$1.47 MX$27.08

7.48%

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

$29.6K BGN 51.5K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

40.92%

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

$24.4K BGN 42.5K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

2.13%

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

$114 BGN 199

$84.2 MX$1,556

35.65%

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

$18.46 BGN 32.12

$23.99 MX$443

-23.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.66 BGN 27.25

$29.02 MX$536

-46.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$8.90 BGN 15.48

$4.94 MX$91.3

80.16%

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

$519 BGN 902

$204 MX$3,763

154.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,550 BGN 9,658

$3,941 MX$72.8K

40.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.86 BGN 58.9

$43.60 MX$806

-22.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.32 BGN 71.9

$43.12 MX$797

-4.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.8 BGN 167

$75.8 MX$1,400

26.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 BGN 180

$88.6 MX$1,637

16.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$565 BGN 984

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-43.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 BGN 593

$374 MX$6,911

-8.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$679 BGN 1,181

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-60.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$513 BGN 893

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-53.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,328 BGN 2,310

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-66.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,135 BGN 1,976

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-81.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$920 BGN 1,601

$754 MX$13.9K

22.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

11.45

-72.93%

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

Last update for Sunny Beach: October 12, 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

Sunny Beach

$341 32.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 9.7% $33

Groceries & Markets

Sunny Beach

$240 23.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 7.7% $18

Eating Out

Sunny Beach

$159 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 27.6% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sunny Beach

$148 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 7.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Sunny Beach

$123 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 8.5% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Sunny Beach

$18 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 310% $55

Getting Around

Sunny Beach

$9 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 483% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $565 in Sunny Beach 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.

Salaries run about 22% higher in Sunny Beach, 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 $45.00 in Sunny Beach versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $240 in Sunny Beach vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Sunny Beach wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sunny Beach

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

09:05 9:05 AM

8 h behind Sunny Beach

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,347

149,923

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sunny Beach Playa del Carmen 10,320 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sunny Beach
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 17%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,557 per month in Sunny Beach 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 Sunny Beach, 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 $1,038 in Sunny Beach and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 17%.

Kindergarten costs $519 per month in Sunny Beach 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 $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sunny Beach, where all-in costs run around $1,038, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Sunny Beach it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sunny Beach – 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 Sunny Beach. 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.