Cost of living comparison

compared to

Playa del Carmen vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Playa del Carmen is 63.5% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Playa del Carmen
Groceries: pay 4.6% less in Playa del Carmen
Transportation: pay 3.3 times more in Playa del Carmen
Housing: pay 44.5% more in Playa del Carmen
Childcare: pay 10.5% less in Playa del Carmen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.0% more in Playa del Carmen
Clothing: pay 25.6% more in Playa del Carmen

The cost of transportation, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Playa del Carmen are more expensive than in Manila. Expenses including childcare and groceries are lower in Playa del Carmen. Notably, transportation and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Playa del Carmen.

Playa del Carmen vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Playa del Carmen instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$11.90 MX$216.19	+97.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$10.83 MX$196.85	+151.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$1.62 MX$29.50	+67.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$1.34 MX$24.39	+166.5%
Average			+120.8%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.6% less for groceries

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.98 MX$35.94	+48.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$4.33 MX$78.74	+1.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$5.50 MX$99.93	-24.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.27 MX$41.21	+2.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$3.76 MX$68.33	+64.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.30 MX$23.55	-14.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.64 MX$11.69	-21.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.90 MX$16.30	-45.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.94 MX$17.03	-8.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.85 MX$15.48	-27.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$1.02 MX$18.60	-25.5%
Average			-4.6%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$5.02 MX$91.31	+20.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$27.08 MX$492.12	+96.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$31,003.27 MX$563,471.97	+22.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$25.93 MX$471.22	+786.5%
Average			+231.5%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.5% more for housing

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$30.51 MX$554.45	+12.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$1,072.23 MX$19,487.36	+109.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$484.68 MX$8,808.86	+92.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$64.40 MX$1,170.45	-35.9%
Average			+44.5%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of housing

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pay 10.5% less for childcare

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$204.43 MX$3,715.47	+47.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$5,361.26 MX$97,438.82	-68.5%
Average			-10.5%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$3.12 MX$56.70	+113.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$3.46 MX$62.90	+33.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$4.17 MX$75.79	+27.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$60.49 MX$1,099.45	+43.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$4.98 MX$90.59	-33.4%
Average			+37.0%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.6% more for clothing

	Manila	Playa del Carmen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$43.98 MX$799.31	-10.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$41.89 MX$761.28	+41.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$75.82 MX$1,377.92	-6.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$88.61 MX$1,610.54	+78.3%
Average			+25.6%

Manila vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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