Cost of living comparison
compared to
Playa del Carmen vs. San Sebastian Cost of Living Summary
Playa del Carmen is 28.8% cheaper than San Sebastian.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.8% less in Playa del Carmen
- Groceries
-
pay 11.5% less in Playa del Carmen
- Transportation
-
pay 15.7% less in Playa del Carmen
- Housing
-
pay 44.4% less in Playa del Carmen
- Childcare
-
pay 63.1% less in Playa del Carmen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.2% more in Playa del Carmen
- Clothing
-
pay 13.6% less in Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen vs. San Sebastian Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Playa del Carmen instead of San Sebastian, you would:
pay 24.8% less for restaurants
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.80
€14.95
|
$11.13
MX$205.76
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.64
€9.47
|
$11.94
MX$220.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.80
€2.49
|
$1.34
MX$24.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.60
€1.42
|
$0.82
MX$15.25
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.5% less for groceries
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.03
€0.92
|
$2.30
MX$42.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.34
€10.09
|
$3.80
MX$70.30
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.42
€3.93
|
$5.64
MX$104.29
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
€3.24
|
$2.53
MX$46.87
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.68
€3.28
|
$3.67
MX$67.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.04
|
$1.31
MX$24.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.95
|
$0.66
MX$12.13
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.49
€1.32
|
$1.20
MX$22.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
€1.16
|
$0.97
MX$17.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
€0.84
|
$0.91
MX$16.82
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.81
|
$0.89
MX$16.46
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of groceries
pay 15.7% less for transportation
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.62
€5.89
|
$5.72
MX$105.85
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$33.59
€29.90
|
$27.82
MX$514.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,315.82
€32,322.39
|
$21,528.95
MX$398K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.15
€12.60
|
$32.66
MX$604.00
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of transportation
pay 44.4% less for housing
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$35.27
€31.39
|
$29.02
MX$536.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,404.47
€1,250.03
|
$998.64
MX$18,467.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$973.61
€866.55
|
$386.21
MX$7,142.10
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$104.82
€93.29
|
$65.50
MX$1,211.29
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of housing
pay 63.1% less for childcare
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$447.89
€398.64
|
$210.01
MX$3,883.69
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,784.69
€12,268.87
|
$4,005.49
MX$74,073.10
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of childcare
pay 5.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.36
€2.99
|
$3.17
MX$58.59
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
€1.83
|
$3.84
MX$71.02
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.16
€5.48
|
$4.45
MX$82.30
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.83
€38.12
|
$64.07
MX$1,184.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.45
€7.52
|
$5.00
MX$92.42
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.6% less for clothing
|
San Sebastian
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.78
€64.78
|
$44.85
MX$829.44
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.19
€28.65
|
$42.62
MX$788.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$74.46
€66.27
|
$76.03
MX$1,406.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.37
€119.59
|
$90.05
MX$1,665.28
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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