Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Townsville and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,606 in Townsville, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Townsville
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Townsville Living Index
57

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

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Townsville

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,606

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,606 per month in Townsville vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Townsville $2,606
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $3,842 per month in Townsville vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Townsville $3,842
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $5,078 per month in Townsville vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Townsville $5,078
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Townsville costs about 117% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Townsville sits 93% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.82 A$32.52

$10.67 MX$198

113.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.4 A$100

$43.80 MX$813

60.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.33

$11.79 MX$219

3.14%

Cappuccino

$3.58 A$5.10

$3.79 MX$70.3

-5.54%

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

$2.64 A$3.76

$1.30 MX$24.07

103.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 A$3.52

$0.83 MX$15.47

197.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.53 A$12.16

$3.15 MX$58.4

170.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.27

$4.93 MX$91.6

46.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 A$2.53

$1.41 MX$26.14

25.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 A$3.23

$2.20 MX$40.75

3.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 A$1.94

$1.47 MX$27.33

-7.48%

Eggs

$5.23 A$7.45

$2.50 MX$46.34

109.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 A$11.63

$7.29 MX$135

11.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 A$14.09

$7.95 MX$148

24.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.37 A$19.06

$12.86 MX$239

3.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 A$5.89

$2.90 MX$53.8

42.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 A$3.85

$1.38 MX$25.67

95.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 A$5.10

$2.49 MX$46.23

43.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 A$6.11

$2.03 MX$37.67

111.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 A$3.76

$2.02 MX$37.58

30.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.07

$1.90 MX$35.32

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.28

$1.14 MX$21.24

101.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 A$4.64

$1.24 MX$22.99

162.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$30.58 A$43.58

$4.27 MX$79.3

616.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 A$15.26

$9.81 MX$182

9.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.93 A$9.88

$1.59 MX$29.43

335.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.54 A$12.17

$2.75 MX$51.0

210.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 A$3.01

$0.51 MX$9.56

313.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.2 A$78.7

$27.39 MX$508

101.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 A$3.74

$4.76 MX$88.4

-44.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 A$2.91

$3.25 MX$60.3

-37.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.02 A$62.7

$5.39 MX$100

716.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 A$1.76

$1.53 MX$28.36

-18.95%

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

$28.1K A$40.1K

$21.2K MX$393.7K

32.68%

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

$27.8K A$39.7K

$23.3K MX$431.7K

19.71%

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

$383 A$545

$83.5 MX$1,549

358.49%

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

$36.42 A$51.9

$23.19 MX$430

57.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.0 A$94.1

$27.61 MX$512

139.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.4 A$78.9

$56.4 MX$1,047

-1.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.73 A$28.11

$28.19 MX$523

-30.01%

Cinema Ticket

$15.23 A$21.71

$5.00 MX$92.8

204.60%

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

$2,084 A$2,970

$207 MX$3,843

906.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K A$17.5K

$5,231 MX$97.1K

134.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.5 A$132

$43.45 MX$806

112.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.1 A$99.9

$42.54 MX$789

64.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 A$233

$72.8 MX$1,350

124.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$187

$88.4 MX$1,640

48.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,286 A$1,832

$995 MX$18.5K

29.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 A$1,460

$382 MX$7,097

167.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,313 A$3,296

$1,674 MX$31.1K

38.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,845 A$2,630

$1,081 MX$20.1K

70.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,976 A$7,091

$3,909 MX$72.5K

27.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,112 A$5,860

$6,138 MX$113.9K

-33.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,066 A$5,794

$832 MX$15.4K

388.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.68

11.45

-50.39%

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

Last update for Townsville: November 3, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Townsville

$1K 39.3%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 62.7% $642

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Townsville

$485 18.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 72.3% $351

Groceries & Markets

Townsville

$389 14.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 33.7% $131

Eating Out

Townsville

$340 13%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 41% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Townsville

$206 7.9%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 46% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Townsville

$86 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 22.6% $19

Getting Around

Townsville

$77 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 34.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,286 in Townsville versus $995 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 Townsville are about 4.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $70 in Townsville versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $389 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Townsville

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:18 10:18 PM

07:18 7:18 AM

15 h behind Townsville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,724

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.702 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.85 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Townsville Playa del Carmen 14,410 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Townsville
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

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

Yes – Townsville is pricier by about 117%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,910 per month in Townsville and $1,804 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 $995 there versus $1,286 in Townsville.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,606 in Townsville and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 54% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 50% 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 $1,202, than in Townsville at $2,606. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Townsville 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 or specific career opportunities are the priority, Townsville makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.