Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vacoas and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Vacoas: $750 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Vacoas
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Vacoas Living Index
58

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

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Vacoas

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$750

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $750 per month in Vacoas vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vacoas $750
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,104 per month in Vacoas vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vacoas $1,104
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,458 per month in Vacoas vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vacoas $1,458
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Vacoas is about 38% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.95 MUR 280

$10.92 MX$205

-45.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.47 MUR 1,530

$43.37 MX$814

-25.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.31 MUR 297

$11.78 MX$221

-46.43%

Cappuccino

$2.58 MUR 122

$3.81 MX$71.5

-32.28%

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

$1.15 MUR 54.0

$1.28 MX$24.07

-10.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 MUR 29.22

$0.78 MX$14.70

-20.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 MUR 125

$3.17 MX$59.5

-16.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 MUR 184

$4.93 MX$92.7

-20.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 MUR 65.8

$1.41 MX$26.40

-0.71%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 MUR 34.38

$2.22 MX$41.62

-67.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 MUR 54.6

$1.42 MX$26.61

-18.31%

Eggs

$2.24 MUR 106

$2.52 MX$47.36

-11.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.71 MUR 128

$7.26 MX$136

-62.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.62 MUR 124

$7.70 MX$144

-65.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.51 MUR 542

$12.69 MX$238

-9.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 MUR 122

$2.78 MX$52.3

-6.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 MUR 104

$1.37 MX$25.68

62.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 MUR 67.4

$2.55 MX$47.89

-43.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 MUR 136

$2.12 MX$39.86

36.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 MUR 47.88

$1.94 MX$36.39

-47.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 MUR 47.59

$1.89 MX$35.41

-46.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 MUR 35.16

$1.15 MX$21.53

-34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 MUR 33.96

$1.18 MX$22.13

-38.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.30 MUR 297

$4.30 MX$80.6

46.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.42 MUR 303

$9.95 MX$187

-35.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 MUR 68.3

$1.58 MX$29.73

-8.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 MUR 112

$2.67 MX$50.1

-11.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.30 MUR 61.4

$0.55 MX$10.39

136.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.24 MUR 200

$4.97 MX$93.3

-14.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MUR 153

$3.33 MX$62.5

-2.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.16 MUR 196

$5.36 MX$101

-22.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MUR 66.5

$1.44 MX$27.11

-2.08%

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

$29.6K MUR 1.4M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

43.22%

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

$31.5K MUR 1.5M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

34.23%

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

$44.84 MUR 2,113

$84.8 MX$1,592

-47.12%

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

$10.49 MUR 495

$23.41 MX$439

-55.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.48 MUR 1,154

$28.66 MX$538

-14.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.26 MUR 1,191

$57.1 MX$1,071

-55.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.33 MUR 251

$5.14 MX$96.5

3.70%

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

$126 MUR 5,934

$207 MX$3,878

-39.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,579 MUR 357.2K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

92.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.56 MUR 1,487

$43.35 MX$814

-27.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.24 MUR 1,802

$41.44 MX$778

-7.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.3 MUR 3,030

$74.2 MX$1,393

-13.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.72 MUR 2,249

$89.3 MX$1,676

-46.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 MUR 12.4K

$980 MX$18.4K

-73.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$223 MUR 10.5K

$381 MX$7,150

-41.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$472 MUR 22.3K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-72.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$231 MUR 10.9K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-78.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$688 MUR 32.4K

$735 MX$13.8K

-6.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

11.45

-41.75%

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

Last update for Vacoas: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Vacoas

$223 29.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 70.8% $158

Groceries & Markets

Vacoas

$179 23.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 42.7% $76

Eating Out

Vacoas

$126 16.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 61.1% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Vacoas

$82 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 36.5% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vacoas

$80 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 71.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Vacoas

$36 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 87.4% $31

Getting Around

Vacoas

$26 * 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 96.3% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $262 in Vacoas 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 7% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $32 in Vacoas versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $179 vs $255 – making Vacoas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Vacoas

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:04 4:04 AM

19:04 7:04 PM

9 h behind Vacoas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

115,289

149,923

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.9 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 47.13 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.62 MUR (100 MUR = 1.9 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Vacoas Playa del Carmen 16,330 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Vacoas
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 60%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,126 per month in Vacoas 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 Vacoas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $262 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $750 in Vacoas and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Vacoas about 38% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $126 per month in Vacoas and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Families tend to lean toward Vacoas – 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 Vacoas. 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.