Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,070 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Vitoria-Gasteiz
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Vitoria-Gasteiz Living Index
58

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

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Vitoria-Gasteiz

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,070

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,070 per month in Vitoria-Gasteiz vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vitoria-Gasteiz $2,070
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,905 per month in Vitoria-Gasteiz vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vitoria-Gasteiz $2,905
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,740 per month in Vitoria-Gasteiz vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vitoria-Gasteiz $3,740
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Vitoria-Gasteiz costs about 72% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Vitoria-Gasteiz sits 52% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.51 €15.69

$10.92 MX$205

60.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 €61.3

$43.37 MX$814

57.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.93 €11.58

$11.78 MX$221

9.76%

Cappuccino

$2.07 €1.86

$3.81 MX$71.5

-45.67%

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

$2.74 €2.46

$1.28 MX$24.07

114.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.78 MX$14.70

152.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 €3.02

$3.17 MX$59.5

6.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 €3.55

$4.93 MX$92.7

-19.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.41 MX$26.40

-13.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 €1.77

$2.22 MX$41.62

-10.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.42 MX$26.61

33.80%

Eggs

$3.46 €3.10

$2.52 MX$47.36

37.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.80 €20.42

$7.26 MX$136

214.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 €8.35

$7.70 MX$144

21.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.29 €15.48

$12.69 MX$238

36.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 €2.78

$2.78 MX$52.3

11.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.37 MX$25.68

89.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.39

$2.55 MX$47.89

4.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.44 €2.19

$2.12 MX$39.86

15.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.94 MX$36.39

-10.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.89 MX$35.41

3.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.15 MX$21.53

40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.72

$1.18 MX$22.13

-31.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.50 €7.61

$4.30 MX$80.6

97.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.76 €5.16

$9.95 MX$187

-42.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 €1.03

$1.58 MX$29.73

-27.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.75

$2.67 MX$50.1

-26.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.54

$0.55 MX$10.39

210.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.86 €30.33

$26.62 MX$500

27.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.61 €5.92

$4.97 MX$93.3

33.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 €1.66

$3.33 MX$62.5

-44.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.65 €21.18

$5.36 MX$101

341.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.44 MX$27.11

29.17%

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

$38.2K €34.2K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

84.99%

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

$30.6K €27.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

30.46%

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

$154 €138

$84.8 MX$1,592

82.14%

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

$17.03 €15.25

$23.41 MX$439

-27.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.51 €32.70

$28.66 MX$538

27.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 €45.56

$57.1 MX$1,071

-10.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.27 €10.09

$28.91 MX$543

-61.02%

Cinema Ticket

$9.88 €8.85

$5.14 MX$96.5

92.22%

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

$391 €350

$207 MX$3,878

89.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,856 €7,036

$3,927 MX$73.7K

100.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €93.6

$43.35 MX$814

140.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.13 €29.67

$41.44 MX$778

-20.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 €96.5

$74.2 MX$1,393

45.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$147 €132

$89.3 MX$1,676

64.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 €1,015

$980 MX$18.4K

15.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$990 €887

$381 MX$7,150

160.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 €1,283

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-16.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 €1,117

$1,075 MX$20.2K

16.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,544 €3,174

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-10.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,375 €3,023

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-45.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,713 €2,430

$735 MX$13.8K

269.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.47

11.45

-69.69%

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

Last update for Vitoria-Gasteiz: October 26, 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

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$990 47.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 61.5% $609

Groceries & Markets

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$321 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 20.5% $66

Eating Out

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$247 12%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 18.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$208 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 34.2% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$177 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 36.7% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$71 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 4.7% $3.3

Getting Around

Vitoria-Gasteiz

$57 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 10.9% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,134 in Vitoria-Gasteiz 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 in Vitoria-Gasteiz are about 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Vitoria-Gasteiz versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $321 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Vitoria-Gasteiz

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:24 11:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

6 h behind Vitoria-Gasteiz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

255,886

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Vitoria-Gasteiz Playa del Carmen 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Vitoria-Gasteiz
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

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

Yes – Vitoria-Gasteiz is pricier by about 72%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,105 per month in Vitoria-Gasteiz 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,134 in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,070 in Vitoria-Gasteiz and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 42% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 21% 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz at $2,070. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Vitoria-Gasteiz 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, Vitoria-Gasteiz makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.