Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surakarta and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Surakarta: $589 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Surakarta
Learn more

Surakarta Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Surakarta

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$589

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $589 per month in Surakarta vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surakarta $589
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $933 per month in Surakarta vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surakarta $933
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,278 per month in Surakarta vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surakarta $1,278
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Surakarta is about 51% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Surakarta and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Surakarta 57% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$10.92 MX$205

-84.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.39 Rp 206.4K

$43.37 MX$814

-73.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.06 Rp 55.4K

$11.78 MX$221

-74.02%

Cappuccino

$1.55 Rp 28.2K

$3.81 MX$71.5

-59.32%

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

$0.53 Rp 9,655

$1.28 MX$24.07

-58.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 Rp 4,143

$0.78 MX$14.70

-70.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.40 Rp 25.4K

$3.17 MX$59.5

-55.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 Rp 50.4K

$4.93 MX$92.7

-43.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.86 Rp 15.6K

$1.41 MX$26.40

-39.01%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 Rp 13.4K

$2.22 MX$41.62

-66.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

$1.42 MX$26.61

-47.18%

Eggs

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$2.52 MX$47.36

-60.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 Rp 141.0K

$7.26 MX$136

7.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$1.62 Rp 29.4K

$7.70 MX$144

-78.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.32 Rp 96.4K

$12.69 MX$238

-58.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.7K

$2.78 MX$52.3

-29.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.6K

$1.37 MX$25.68

-5.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.5K

$2.55 MX$47.89

-29.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 Rp 25.5K

$2.12 MX$39.86

-33.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 Rp 24.7K

$1.94 MX$36.39

-29.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 Rp 29.7K

$1.89 MX$35.41

-13.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 Rp 9,559

$1.15 MX$21.53

-53.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,776

$1.18 MX$22.13

-63.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.93 Rp 34.9K

$4.30 MX$80.6

-55.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 Rp 149.2K

$9.95 MX$187

-17.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 Rp 29.2K

$1.58 MX$29.73

1.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.7K

$2.67 MX$50.1

11.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.41 Rp 7,394

$0.55 MX$10.39

-25.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.35 Rp 205.6K

$26.62 MX$500

-57.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,480

$4.97 MX$93.3

-90.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,739

$3.33 MX$62.5

-87.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.58 Rp 46.8K

$5.36 MX$101

-51.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.78 Rp 14.1K

$1.44 MX$27.11

-45.83%

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

$25.0K Rp 453.6M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

21.13%

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

$32.9K Rp 596.2M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

40.22%

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

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$84.8 MX$1,592

-8.36%

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

$2.06 Rp 37.2K

$23.41 MX$439

-91.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.73 Rp 339.3K

$28.66 MX$538

-34.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.13 Rp 292.3K

$57.1 MX$1,071

-71.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 Rp 150.6K

$28.91 MX$543

-71.26%

Cinema Ticket

$1.88 Rp 34.1K

$5.14 MX$96.5

-63.42%

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

$33.22 Rp 601.9K

$207 MX$3,878

-83.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,841 Rp 33.4M

$3,927 MX$73.7K

-53.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 Rp 1.1M

$43.35 MX$814

35.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.70 Rp 665.0K

$41.44 MX$778

-11.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.2 Rp 1.2M

$74.2 MX$1,393

-8.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.7 Rp 1.2M

$89.3 MX$1,676

-26.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 Rp 4.0M

$980 MX$18.4K

-77.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 Rp 2.7M

$381 MX$7,150

-61.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 Rp 10.1M

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-67.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$367 Rp 6.7M

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-65.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,102 Rp 20.0M

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-72.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$712 Rp 12.9M

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-88.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$155 Rp 2.8M

$735 MX$13.8K

-78.91%

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 Surakarta: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surakarta

$147 25%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 72.9% $107

Accommodation & Living

Surakarta

$147 25%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 159% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Surakarta

$103 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 8.2% $8.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surakarta

$98 16.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 39% $38

Eating Out

Surakarta

$57 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 255% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Surakarta

$20 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 238% $47

Getting Around

Surakarta

$16 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 224% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $223 in Surakarta 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 in Playa del Carmen are about 4.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $11 in Surakarta versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $147 vs $255 – making Surakarta the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surakarta

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:34 12:34 PM

00:34 12:34 AM

12 h behind Surakarta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

503,421

149,923

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18,120 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,232 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

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

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surakarta Playa del Carmen 17,600 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Surakarta
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 104%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $883 per month in Surakarta 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 Surakarta, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $223 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $589 in Surakarta and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Surakarta about 51% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 57% less in Surakarta. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Surakarta, where all-in costs run around $589, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Surakarta it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Surakarta – 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 Surakarta. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.