Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cancun vs. Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Summary

Cancun is 11.6% more expensive than Playa del Carmen.

Restaurants: pay 5.2% less in Cancun
Groceries: pay 13.5% more in Cancun
Transportation: pay 0.6% more in Cancun
Housing: pay 20.9% more in Cancun
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.6% less in Cancun
Clothing: pay 40.4% more in Cancun

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

Cancun vs. Playa del Carmen Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.2% less for restaurants

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.90 MX$214.52	$12.59 MX$227.07	+5.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.83 MX$195.32	$10.83 MX$195.32
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.62 MX$29.28	$1.62 MX$29.22	-0.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.34 MX$24.20	$1.06 MX$19.08	-21.2%
Average			-5.2%

Playa del Carmen vs. Cancun - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.5% more for groceries

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 MX$35.66	$2.55 MX$45.93	+28.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.33 MX$78.13	$5.45 MX$98.30	+25.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.50 MX$99.15	$5.50 MX$99.20
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.27 MX$40.89	$2.27 MX$40.92	+0.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.76 MX$67.80	$3.77 MX$67.90	+0.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 MX$23.37	$1.40 MX$25.19	+7.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 MX$11.60	$0.67 MX$12.17	+4.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MX$16.17	$1.44 MX$25.89	+60.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 MX$16.90	$0.94 MX$16.92	+0.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 MX$15.36	$0.89 MX$16.11	+4.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.02 MX$18.46	$1.05 MX$18.90	+2.4%
Average			+13.5%

Playa del Carmen vs. Cancun - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.6% more for transportation

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.02 MX$90.61	$5.06 MX$91.17	+0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.08 MX$488.31	$27.08 MX$488.31
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,003.27 MX$559,112.91	$31,003.27 MX$559,112.91
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.93 MX$467.57	$25.93 MX$467.57
Average			+0.6%

Playa del Carmen vs. Cancun - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.9% more for housing

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.51 MX$550.16	$37.91 MX$683.63	+24.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,072.23 MX$19,336.60	$665.32 MX$11,998.43	-37.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$484.68 MX$8,740.72	$433.23 MX$7,812.93	-10.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.40 MX$1,161.39	$133.90 MX$2,414.73	+107.9%
Average			+20.9%

Playa del Carmen vs. Cancun - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$204.43 MX$3,686.73	$204.43 MX$3,686.73
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,361.26 MX$96,685.03	$5,361.26 MX$96,685.03

Playa del Carmen vs. Cancun - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 MX$56.27	$3.12 MX$56.35	+0.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.46 MX$62.41	$3.46 MX$62.41
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.17 MX$75.20	$4.33 MX$78.13	+3.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$60.49 MX$1,090.95	$27.06 MX$488.06	-55.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MX$89.89	$7.42 MX$133.80	+48.8%
Average			-0.6%

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

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pay 40.4% more for clothing

	Playa del Carmen	Cancun
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.98 MX$793.12	$64.99 MX$1,171.94	+47.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.89 MX$755.39	$51.43 MX$927.54	+22.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.82 MX$1,367.26	$75.82 MX$1,367.26
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.61 MX$1,598.08	$133.56 MX$2,408.66	+50.7%
Average			+40.4%

Playa del Carmen vs. Cancun - 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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