Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Trieste and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,892 in Trieste, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Trieste
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Trieste Living Index
57

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

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Trieste

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,892

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,892 per month in Trieste vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Trieste $1,892
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $2,846 per month in Trieste vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Trieste $2,846
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,801 per month in Trieste vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Trieste $3,801
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Trieste costs about 57% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Trieste sits 40% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.11 €19.64

$10.67 MX$199

107.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.8

$43.80 MX$815

51.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 €10.40

$11.79 MX$219

-0.68%

Cappuccino

$2.13 €1.89

$3.79 MX$70.5

-43.80%

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

$3.82 €3.39

$1.30 MX$24.14

193.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.83 MX$15.51

160.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.58 €5.85

$3.15 MX$58.6

108.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.52 €4.90

$4.93 MX$91.8

11.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.41 MX$26.22

56.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.09 €2.74

$2.20 MX$40.86

40.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.84 €3.41

$1.47 MX$27.40

161.22%

Eggs

$4.22 €3.75

$2.50 MX$46.47

68.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.02 €13.34

$7.29 MX$136

106.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.55 €10.26

$7.95 MX$148

45.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.53 €15.57

$12.86 MX$239

36.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 €2.44

$2.90 MX$53.9

-5.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.93

$1.38 MX$25.74

57.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.13 €2.78

$2.49 MX$46.36

25.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.55 €4.05

$2.03 MX$37.78

124.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$2.02 MX$37.69

26.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 €2.29

$1.90 MX$35.42

35.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 €2.04

$1.14 MX$21.30

101.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 €0.70

$1.24 MX$23.06

-37.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.10

$4.27 MX$79.5

60.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 €7.10

$9.81 MX$183

-18.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.59 MX$29.51

10.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 €2.22

$2.75 MX$51.1

-9.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$0.51 MX$9.58

235.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.42 €39.46

$27.39 MX$510

62.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.60 €6.75

$4.76 MX$88.6

59.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.25 MX$60.5

-42.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.95 €25.71

$5.39 MX$100

437.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.53 MX$28.44

40.52%

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

$35.2K €31.3K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

65.99%

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

$38.2K €34.0K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

64.36%

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

$219 €194

$83.5 MX$1,554

161.91%

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

$10.05 €8.93

$23.19 MX$431

-56.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.56 €27.15

$27.61 MX$514

10.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.19 €42.81

$56.4 MX$1,050

-14.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.93 €36.36

$28.19 MX$525

45.19%

Cinema Ticket

$8.97 €7.97

$5.00 MX$93.1

79.40%

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

$748 €664

$207 MX$3,854

261.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.5K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

146.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €95.7

$43.45 MX$809

147.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.41 €35.00

$42.54 MX$792

-7.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 €101

$72.8 MX$1,354

55.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 €118

$88.4 MX$1,645

49.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$787 €699

$995 MX$18.5K

-20.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €579

$382 MX$7,116

70.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,372 €1,219

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-18.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 €907

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-5.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,792 €3,368

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-2.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,349 €2,087

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-61.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,004 €1,780

$832 MX$15.5K

140.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.26

11.45

-71.53%

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

Last update for Trieste: November 1, 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

Trieste

$652 34.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 41.4% $270

Groceries & Markets

Trieste

$364 19.2%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 29.3% $106

Eating Out

Trieste

$305 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 34.4% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Trieste

$259 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 48.2% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Trieste

$177 9.4%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 37.1% $66

Getting Around

Trieste

$68 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 26% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Trieste

$66 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 0.5% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $787 in Trieste 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 Trieste are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66 in Trieste versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $364 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Trieste

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:13 5:13 PM

11:13 11:13 AM

6 h behind Trieste

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

200,609

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Trieste Playa del Carmen 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Trieste
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

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

Yes – Trieste is pricier by about 57%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,838 per month in Trieste 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 Trieste, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $787 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,892 in Trieste and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 36% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 38% 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 Trieste at $1,892. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Trieste it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,202 versus $1,892 in Trieste. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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