Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tema and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Tema: $746 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Tema
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Tema Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Tema

🇬🇭 Ghana

$746

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $746 per month in Tema vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tema $746
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,186 per month in Tema vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tema $1,186
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,627 per month in Tema vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tema $1,627
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Tema is about 38% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Tema and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Tema 45% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.04 GHS 81.6

$10.92 MX$204

-35.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.68 GHS 321

$43.37 MX$808

-36.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

Cappuccino

$5.09 GHS 59.0

$3.81 MX$71.0

33.60%

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

$0.85 GHS 9.79

$1.28 MX$23.90

-33.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 GHS 3.48

$0.78 MX$14.59

-61.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.31 GHS 38.31

$3.17 MX$59.0

4.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 GHS 29.59

$4.93 MX$92.0

-48.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.25 GHS 37.67

$1.41 MX$26.22

130.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 GHS 17.83

$2.22 MX$41.33

-30.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 GHS 22.93

$1.42 MX$26.42

39.44%

Eggs

$2.37 GHS 27.44

$2.52 MX$47.03

-5.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.27 GHS 49.40

$7.26 MX$135

-41.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.18 GHS 36.79

$7.70 MX$143

-58.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.43 GHS 39.70

$12.69 MX$237

-72.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 GHS 30.42

$2.78 MX$51.9

-5.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 GHS 24.42

$1.37 MX$25.50

54.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 GHS 25.43

$2.55 MX$47.55

-13.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.48 GHS 40.33

$2.12 MX$39.58

64.15%

Potato (1kg)

$3.34 GHS 38.69

$1.94 MX$36.13

72.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.75 GHS 31.86

$1.89 MX$35.16

45.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 GHS 5.14

$1.15 MX$21.37

-61.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 GHS 7.60

$1.18 MX$21.98

-44.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.32 GHS 15.26

$4.30 MX$80.1

-69.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.67 GHS 100

$9.95 MX$185

-12.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 GHS 25.07

$1.58 MX$29.52

36.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 GHS 35.22

$2.67 MX$49.79

13.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.69 GHS 19.58

$0.55 MX$10.31

207.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.27 GHS 478

$26.62 MX$496

55.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 GHS 24.45

$4.97 MX$92.6

-57.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 GHS 4.80

$3.33 MX$62.1

-87.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 GHS 13.22

$1.44 MX$26.92

-20.83%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

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

$76.6 GHS 887

$84.8 MX$1,581

-9.72%

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

$14.89 GHS 172

$23.41 MX$436

-36.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$83.0 GHS 961

$28.66 MX$534

189.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.21 GHS 269

$57.1 MX$1,063

-59.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$8.76 GHS 101

$5.14 MX$95.8

70.43%

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

$174 GHS 2,012

$207 MX$3,851

-15.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,582 GHS 29.9K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-34.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.97 GHS 150

$43.35 MX$808

-70.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.23 GHS 176

$41.44 MX$772

-63.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$43.68 GHS 506

$74.2 MX$1,383

-41.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$32.85 GHS 380

$89.3 MX$1,664

-63.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$127 GHS 1,469

$980 MX$18.3K

-87.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$72.0 GHS 833

$381 MX$7,099

-81.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 GHS 5,048

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-74.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 GHS 2,511

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-79.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,800 GHS 113.5K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

148.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,945 GHS 68.8K

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-3.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$419 GHS 4,854

$735 MX$13.7K

-42.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

205.68%

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

Last update for Tema: October 25, 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

Tema

$216 28.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 18.1% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tema

$174 23.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 21.5% $38

Eating Out

Tema

$144 * 19.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 40.8% $59

Accommodation & Living

Tema

$72 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 429% $309

Getting Around

Tema

$52 7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 3.4% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Tema

$47 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 137% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Tema

$41 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 65.3% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $127 in Tema 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 run about 75% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Tema versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $216 vs $255 – making Tema the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Tema

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

15:35 3:35 PM

5 h behind Tema

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.64 USD

100 GHS = 7.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 11.58 GHS (100 GHS = 8.64 USD). 1 EUR = 12.89 GHS (100 GHS = 7.76 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to GHS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tema Playa del Carmen 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Tema
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 61%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,119 per month in Tema 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 Tema, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $127 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $746 in Tema and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Tema about 38% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 35% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Families tend to lean toward Tema – 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 Tema. 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.