Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Surabaya: $674 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
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Surabaya Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$674

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $674 per month in Surabaya vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surabaya $674
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,173 per month in Surabaya vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surabaya $1,173
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $1,672 per month in Surabaya vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surabaya $1,672
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Surabaya is about 44% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Surabaya and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Surabaya 50% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.63 Rp 29.3K

$10.86 MX$201

-84.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.26 Rp 202.7K

$44.21 MX$817

-74.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.14 Rp 56.5K

$11.76 MX$217

-73.30%

Cappuccino

$1.56 Rp 28.0K

$3.68 MX$68.0

-57.61%

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

$0.55 Rp 9,867

$1.34 MX$24.79

-58.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 Rp 4,619

$0.82 MX$15.24

-68.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$3.06 MX$56.6

-29.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 Rp 74.5K

$4.94 MX$91.2

-16.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 Rp 22.5K

$1.47 MX$27.17

-14.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 Rp 22.9K

$2.22 MX$40.95

-42.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.48 MX$27.32

-43.92%

Eggs

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.49 MX$45.99

-52.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.75 Rp 139.4K

$7.52 MX$139

3.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.08 Rp 55.5K

$7.96 MX$147

-61.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.75 Rp 139.4K

$12.57 MX$232

-38.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 Rp 36.3K

$2.78 MX$51.3

-27.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.2K

$1.43 MX$26.37

-9.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 Rp 34.0K

$2.62 MX$48.37

-27.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 Rp 26.9K

$2.14 MX$39.49

-30.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 Rp 24.4K

$2.02 MX$37.38

-32.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

$1.99 MX$36.74

-4.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 Rp 16.0K

$1.14 MX$21.01

-21.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 7,029

$1.20 MX$22.18

-67.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 Rp 35.7K

$4.26 MX$78.7

-53.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$25.14 Rp 452.5K

$10.02 MX$185

150.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Rp 31.3K

$1.54 MX$28.41

12.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 Rp 50.9K

$2.66 MX$49.17

6.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 Rp 6,237

$0.53 MX$9.73

-33.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.46 Rp 8,282

$4.90 MX$90.6

-90.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 Rp 7,542

$3.43 MX$63.5

-87.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.58 Rp 46.4K

$5.38 MX$99.4

-52.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 Rp 15.8K

$1.45 MX$26.76

-39.31%

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

$24.6K Rp 443.1M

$21.2K MX$391.0K

16.36%

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

$32.3K Rp 581.0M

$23.0K MX$425.3K

40.22%

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

$87.3 Rp 1.6M

$85.4 MX$1,577

2.30%

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

$4.57 Rp 82.2K

$23.46 MX$434

-80.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.05 Rp 342.9K

$28.43 MX$525

-32.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.92 Rp 322.6K

$62.2 MX$1,149

-71.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.66 Rp 119.9K

$28.68 MX$530

-76.78%

Cinema Ticket

$2.64 Rp 47.5K

$5.10 MX$94.3

-48.24%

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

$277 Rp 5.0M

$201 MX$3,715

37.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,324 Rp 167.8M

$3,947 MX$72.9K

136.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.9 Rp 1.3M

$44.39 MX$820

59.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.58 Rp 694.4K

$41.35 MX$764

-6.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$72.7 MX$1,344

11.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.1 Rp 1.4M

$89.6 MX$1,656

-16.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$282 Rp 5.1M

$979 MX$18.1K

-71.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 Rp 2.6M

$373 MX$6,887

-61.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,238 Rp 22.3M

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-26.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$601 Rp 10.8M

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-45.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,161 Rp 38.9M

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-45.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 Rp 19.3M

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-82.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$271 Rp 4.9M

$738 MX$13.6K

-63.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

11.45

-34.50%

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

Last update for Surabaya: October 20, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surabaya

$209 31%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 23.8% $50

Accommodation & Living

Surabaya

$144 21.4%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 158% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Surabaya

$119 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 6.5% $7.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surabaya

$111 16.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 23.7% $26

Eating Out

Surabaya

$63 9.4%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 216% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Surabaya

$23 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 212% $49

Getting Around

Surabaya

$3.9 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 1212% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $282 in Surabaya 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.

Salaries run about 173% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $11.00 in Surabaya versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $209 vs $258 – making Surabaya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:33 7:33 PM

07:33 7:33 AM

12 h behind Surabaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,765,487

149,923

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surabaya Playa del Carmen 17,410 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Surabaya
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 79%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,011 per month in Surabaya 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 Surabaya, 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 $674 in Surabaya and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 79%.

Kindergarten costs $277 per month in Surabaya and $201 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 Surabaya, where all-in costs run around $674, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Surabaya it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Surabaya – 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 Surabaya. 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.