Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,267 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

157

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
58

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

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,267

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,267 per month in Sydney vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sydney $3,267
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $4,847 per month in Sydney vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sydney $4,847
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $6,428 per month in Sydney vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sydney $6,428
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Sydney costs about 171% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sydney sits 140% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.88

$10.92 MX$204

60.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.4 A$128

$43.37 MX$810

108.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.00

$11.78 MX$220

1.53%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.69

$3.81 MX$71.2

4.99%

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

$2.81 A$4.00

$1.28 MX$23.96

119.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 A$3.16

$0.78 MX$14.63

184.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.13 A$11.57

$3.17 MX$59.2

156.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.24

$4.93 MX$92.2

46.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 A$2.42

$1.41 MX$26.28

20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.18

$2.22 MX$41.43

32.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.58

$1.42 MX$26.48

76.76%

Eggs

$5.66 A$8.05

$2.52 MX$47.14

124.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.22 A$17.37

$7.26 MX$136

68.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.31 A$13.24

$7.70 MX$144

20.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 A$23.99

$12.69 MX$237

32.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.90 A$5.55

$2.78 MX$52.0

40.29%

Banana (1kg)

$3.22 A$4.58

$1.37 MX$25.56

135.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.43 A$4.88

$2.55 MX$47.66

34.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 A$6.16

$2.12 MX$39.67

104.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.35 A$4.76

$1.94 MX$36.22

72.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.41

$1.89 MX$35.24

26.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.33

$1.15 MX$21.42

103.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 A$1.65

$1.18 MX$22.03

-1.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.47 A$64.7

$4.30 MX$80.3

957.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.99 A$19.89

$9.95 MX$186

40.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.11 A$5.84

$1.58 MX$29.59

160.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.18 A$5.94

$2.67 MX$49.91

56.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.12 A$4.44

$0.55 MX$10.34

467.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$152 A$216

$26.62 MX$497

470.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.46 A$4.92

$4.97 MX$92.9

-30.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.22

$3.33 MX$62.2

-53.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.54 A$56.2

$5.36 MX$100

637.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 A$2.06

$1.44 MX$26.98

0.69%

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

$29.9K A$42.5K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

44.68%

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

$27.5K A$39.1K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

17.27%

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

$251 A$357

$84.8 MX$1,584

195.84%

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

$27.76 A$39.47

$23.41 MX$437

18.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.0 A$82.5

$28.66 MX$535

102.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.7 A$100

$57.1 MX$1,066

23.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.25 A$33.06

$28.91 MX$540

-19.58%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 A$25.35

$5.14 MX$96.0

246.89%

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

$2,358 A$3,353

$207 MX$3,860

1041.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.2K A$38.7K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

592.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.5 A$114

$43.35 MX$810

85.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.3 A$98.5

$41.44 MX$774

67.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$157

$74.2 MX$1,386

49.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 A$181

$89.3 MX$1,668

42.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,566 A$3,648

$980 MX$18.3K

161.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,792 A$2,549

$381 MX$7,116

370.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,202 A$7,396

$1,708 MX$31.9K

204.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,156 A$4,488

$1,075 MX$20.1K

193.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.0K

$3,943 MX$73.7K

239.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,727 A$12.4K

$6,158 MX$115.1K

41.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,118 A$5,856

$735 MX$13.7K

460.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

11.45

-48.30%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 78.8% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$382 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 33.3% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$337 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 59.3% $200

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 32.3% $97

Getting Around

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 71.3% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$175 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 36% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$106 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 36.7% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,566 in Sydney 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 Sydney are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90 in Sydney versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $382 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:07 1:07 AM

09:07 9:07 AM

16 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Playa del Carmen 14,150 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
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

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

Yes – Sydney is pricier by about 171%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,900 per month in Sydney 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $2,566 in Sydney.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,267 in Sydney and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 171%.

Public transport costs about 82% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Sydney at $3,267. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney 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.

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