Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tivat and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,651 in Tivat, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Tivat outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Tivat
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Tivat Living Index
59

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

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Tivat

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,651

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,651 per month in Tivat vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tivat $1,651
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,494 per month in Tivat vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tivat $2,494
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $3,338 per month in Tivat vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tivat $3,338
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Tivat costs about 37% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Tivat sits 22% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.18 €9.95

$10.86 MX$201

2.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 €40.65

$44.21 MX$817

3.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.86 €9.66

$11.76 MX$217

-7.65%

Cappuccino

$2.21 €1.97

$3.68 MX$68.0

-39.95%

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

$2.58 €2.30

$1.34 MX$24.79

92.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$0.82 MX$15.24

70.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 €2.82

$3.06 MX$56.6

3.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.94

$4.94 MX$91.2

-33.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.14

$1.47 MX$27.17

-12.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.22 MX$40.95

-50.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.48 MX$27.32

31.08%

Eggs

$3.36 €2.99

$2.49 MX$45.99

34.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 €7.93

$7.52 MX$139

18.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.07 €7.18

$7.96 MX$147

1.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.30 €10.94

$12.57 MX$232

-2.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.78 MX$51.3

-41.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.43 MX$26.37

17.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.62 MX$48.37

-33.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$2.14 MX$39.49

34.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 €0.82

$2.02 MX$37.38

-54.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.99 MX$36.74

-43.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.67 €1.48

$1.14 MX$21.01

46.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.20 MX$22.18

-25.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.34 €3.86

$4.26 MX$78.7

1.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.56 €4.94

$10.02 MX$185

-44.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.54 MX$28.41

-29.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$2.66 MX$49.17

-36.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$0.53 MX$9.73

222.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.50 €35.14

$27.51 MX$508

43.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 €1.01

$4.90 MX$90.6

-76.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.02

$3.43 MX$63.5

-66.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.35 €10.10

$5.38 MX$99.4

110.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.45 MX$26.76

23.45%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

31.24%

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

$25.6K €22.8K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

11.18%

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

$127 €113

$85.4 MX$1,577

49.19%

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

$15.03 €13.37

$23.46 MX$434

-35.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.55 €29.84

$28.43 MX$525

18.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.87 €41.69

$62.2 MX$1,149

-24.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.38 €13.68

$28.68 MX$530

-46.37%

Cinema Ticket

$6.00 €5.33

$5.10 MX$94.3

17.65%

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

$407 €362

$201 MX$3,715

102.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,455 €6,632

$3,947 MX$72.9K

88.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.4

$44.39 MX$820

96.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.46 €35.10

$41.35 MX$764

-4.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 €87.0

$72.7 MX$1,344

34.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 €92.4

$89.6 MX$1,656

15.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$884 €786

$979 MX$18.1K

-9.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$797 €709

$373 MX$6,887

113.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,996 €1,775

$1,681 MX$31.1K

18.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 €1,275

$1,095 MX$20.2K

30.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,841 €5,196

$3,949 MX$73.0K

47.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,688 €2,391

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-56.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,214 €1,080

$738 MX$13.6K

64.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.38

11.45

-53.01%

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

Last update for Tivat: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tivat

$797 48.3%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 53.2% $424

Groceries & Markets

Tivat

$231 14%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 12% $28

Eating Out

Tivat

$187 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 7.1% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tivat

$176 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 22% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Tivat

$148 9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 24.4% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Tivat

$59 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 23% $14

Getting Around

Tivat

$53 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 2.9% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $884 in Tivat 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 65% higher in Tivat, 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 $46.00 in Tivat versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $231 in Tivat vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Tivat wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Tivat

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:47 10:47 AM

03:47 3:47 AM

7 h behind Tivat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,500

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Tivat Playa del Carmen 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Tivat
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

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

Yes – Tivat is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,476 per month in Tivat 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,651 in Tivat and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 37%.

Public transport costs about 44% 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 Tivat at $1,651. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Tivat 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, Tivat makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.