Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surfers Paradise and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,824 in Surfers Paradise, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

136

Cost of Living Index in Surfers Paradise
Learn more

Surfers Paradise Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Surfers Paradise

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,824

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,824 per month in Surfers Paradise vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surfers Paradise $2,824
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $4,398 per month in Surfers Paradise vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surfers Paradise $4,398
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $5,973 per month in Surfers Paradise vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Surfers Paradise $5,973
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Surfers Paradise costs about 133% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Surfers Paradise sits 109% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.36 A$24.99

$10.76 MX$199

61.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 A$151

$43.03 MX$795

143.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.85 A$15.62

$11.79 MX$218

-7.97%

Cappuccino

$4.10 A$5.90

$3.87 MX$71.4

5.94%

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

$2.81 A$4.05

$1.37 MX$25.29

105.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 A$3.46

$0.84 MX$15.44

185.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.86 A$11.31

$3.10 MX$57.3

153.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.87 A$11.32

$5.07 MX$93.6

55.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.40

$1.44 MX$26.55

15.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.70 A$3.89

$2.23 MX$41.23

21.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 A$3.46

$1.47 MX$27.17

63.95%

Eggs

$4.90 A$7.05

$2.53 MX$46.71

93.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.68 A$12.49

$7.30 MX$135

18.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.09 A$13.07

$7.86 MX$145

15.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 A$20.83

$12.79 MX$236

13.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.92 A$5.65

$2.90 MX$53.6

35.17%

Banana (1kg)

$3.08 A$4.43

$1.44 MX$26.53

113.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.37 A$4.85

$2.55 MX$47.07

32.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.84 A$6.97

$2.06 MX$38.03

134.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 A$4.06

$2.00 MX$36.97

41.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.50

$2.01 MX$37.07

21.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.39 A$3.44

$1.19 MX$22.02

100.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 A$2.98

$1.26 MX$23.23

64.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$37.58 A$54.1

$4.40 MX$81.4

754.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.26 A$20.52

$9.59 MX$177

48.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.97 A$8.59

$1.59 MX$29.41

275.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.12 A$7.36

$2.81 MX$51.9

82.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 A$0.49

$0.57 MX$10.47

-40.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 A$3.02

$4.98 MX$92.1

-57.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 A$2.33

$3.50 MX$64.6

-53.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.24 A$50.7

$5.40 MX$99.8

552.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.86

$1.47 MX$27.08

-11.56%

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

$27.0K A$38.9K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

28.79%

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

$28.3K A$40.8K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

18.58%

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

$212 A$305

$84.2 MX$1,556

152.06%

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

$29.92 A$43.06

$23.99 MX$443

24.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.4 A$79.8

$29.02 MX$536

90.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.1 A$95.1

$63.0 MX$1,164

4.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.45 A$20.80

$29.14 MX$539

-50.41%

Cinema Ticket

$17.42 A$25.06

$4.94 MX$91.3

252.63%

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

$1,944 A$2,798

$204 MX$3,763

854.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K A$17.8K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

214.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.1 A$120

$43.60 MX$806

90.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 A$79.2

$43.12 MX$797

27.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$75.8 MX$1,400

46.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 A$175

$88.6 MX$1,637

36.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,912 A$2,752

$1,008 MX$18.6K

89.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,570 A$2,260

$374 MX$6,911

319.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,770 A$5,425

$1,708 MX$31.6K

120.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,067 A$4,413

$1,106 MX$20.4K

177.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,895 A$8,483

$3,944 MX$72.9K

49.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,954 A$7,128

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-19.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,288 A$4,731

$754 MX$13.9K

335.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.81

11.45

-49.26%

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

Last update for Surfers Paradise: 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

Surfers Paradise

$1.6K 55.6%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 76.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Surfers Paradise

$380 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 32% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surfers Paradise

$298 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 53.9% $160

Eating Out

Surfers Paradise

$297 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 31.8% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Surfers Paradise

$167 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 32.2% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Surfers Paradise

$101 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 27.8% $28

Getting Around

Surfers Paradise

$12 * 0.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 355% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,912 in Surfers Paradise 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 336% higher in Surfers Paradise, 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 $105 in Surfers Paradise versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $380 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Surfers Paradise

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:20 3:20 AM

12:20 12:20 PM

15 h behind Surfers Paradise

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,668

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surfers Paradise Playa del Carmen 13,890 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Surfers Paradise
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

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

Yes – Surfers Paradise is pricier by about 133%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,235 per month in Surfers Paradise 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 Playa del Carmen, 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 $2,824 in Surfers Paradise and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 133%.

Kindergarten costs $1,944 per month in Surfers Paradise 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Surfers Paradise at $2,824. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Surfers Paradise it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Surfers Paradise makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.