Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ube and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,240 in Ube, rent and utilities included – about $460 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Ube
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Ube Living Index
57

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

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Ube

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,240

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,240 per month in Ube vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ube $1,240
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,925 per month in Ube vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ube $1,925
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,610 per month in Ube vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ube $2,610
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Ube costs about 3% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Ube and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Ube 8% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.98 ¥1,106

$10.67 MX$199

-34.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.82 ¥5,516

$43.80 MX$815

-20.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 ¥889

$11.79 MX$219

-52.42%

Cappuccino

$3.20 ¥507

$3.79 MX$70.5

-15.57%

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

$1.14 ¥181

$1.30 MX$24.14

-12.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$0.83 MX$15.51

-2.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 ¥320

$3.15 MX$58.6

-35.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 ¥489

$4.93 MX$91.8

-37.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥240

$1.41 MX$26.22

7.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥249

$2.20 MX$40.86

-28.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.80 ¥760

$1.47 MX$27.40

226.53%

Eggs

$2.20 ¥349

$2.50 MX$46.47

-12.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 ¥1,573

$7.29 MX$136

36.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.37 ¥1,009

$7.95 MX$148

-19.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.50 ¥2,455

$12.86 MX$239

20.53%

Apples (1kg)

$5.25 ¥832

$2.90 MX$53.9

81.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 ¥415

$1.38 MX$25.74

89.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.97 ¥629

$2.49 MX$46.36

59.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.46 ¥707

$2.03 MX$37.78

119.70%

Potato (1kg)

$3.31 ¥524

$2.02 MX$37.69

63.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.69 ¥427

$1.90 MX$35.42

41.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ¥218

$1.14 MX$21.30

21.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥130

$1.24 MX$23.06

-33.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 ¥640

$4.27 MX$79.5

-5.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.65 ¥1,053

$9.81 MX$183

-32.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 ¥312

$1.59 MX$29.51

23.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 ¥372

$2.75 MX$51.1

-14.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 ¥253

$0.51 MX$9.58

213.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.5 ¥8,948

$27.39 MX$510

106.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 ¥537

$4.76 MX$88.6

-28.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.90 ¥459

$3.25 MX$60.5

-10.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.04 ¥3,333

$5.39 MX$100

290.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥188

$1.53 MX$28.44

-22.88%

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

$22.8K ¥3.6M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

7.59%

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

$17.2K ¥2.7M

$23.3K MX$432.9K

-25.94%

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

$142 ¥22.5K

$83.5 MX$1,554

69.92%

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

$27.14 ¥4,299

$23.19 MX$431

17.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.42 ¥5,453

$27.61 MX$514

24.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 ¥9,147

$56.4 MX$1,050

2.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.93 ¥2,207

$28.19 MX$525

-50.59%

Cinema Ticket

$12.94 ¥2,049

$5.00 MX$93.1

158.80%

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

$277 ¥44.0K

$207 MX$3,854

33.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.5K ¥2.1M

$5,231 MX$97.4K

158.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.73 ¥6,769

$43.45 MX$809

-1.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.68 ¥4,702

$42.54 MX$792

-30.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.0 ¥9,502

$72.8 MX$1,354

-17.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 ¥14.4K

$88.4 MX$1,645

3.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$462 ¥73.2K

$995 MX$18.5K

-53.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 ¥52.3K

$382 MX$7,116

-13.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$860 ¥136.2K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-48.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 ¥102.6K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-40.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,856 ¥452.4K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-26.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,757 ¥278.3K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-71.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.81

11.45

-84.19%

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

Last update for Ube: 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

Ube

$330 26.6%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 15.8% $52

Groceries & Markets

Ube

$306 24.7%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 15.8% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ube

$203 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 34% $69

Eating Out

Ube

$135 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 48.2% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Ube

$101 8.1%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 10.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Ube

$84 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 20.5% $17

Getting Around

Ube

$81 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 37.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $462 in Ube 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35 in Ube versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $306 in Ube vs $257 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ube

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

05:44 5:44 AM

15:44 3:44 PM

14 h behind Ube

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

162,570

149,923

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.61 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.61 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Ube Playa del Carmen 12,720 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ube
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

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

Yes – Ube is pricier by about 3%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,859 per month in Ube 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 Ube, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $462 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,240 in Ube and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 3% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 52% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,240 in Ube and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,240 in Ube. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.