Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barakaldo and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,633 in Barakaldo, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Barakaldo
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Barakaldo Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Barakaldo

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,633

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,633 in Barakaldo versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Barakaldo $1,633
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,448 in Barakaldo versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Barakaldo $2,448
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,264 in Barakaldo versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Barakaldo $3,264
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Barakaldo is roughly 36% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barakaldo is 20% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.13 €15.34

$10.92 MX$205

56.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.6 €60.6

$43.37 MX$814

55.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.39 €11.09

$11.78 MX$221

5.18%

Cappuccino

$2.63 €2.35

$3.81 MX$71.5

-30.97%

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

$3.04 €2.72

$1.28 MX$24.07

137.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 €1.83

$0.78 MX$14.70

162.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 €3.00

$3.17 MX$59.5

5.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 €2.92

$4.93 MX$92.7

-33.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 €1.10

$1.41 MX$26.40

-12.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 €1.48

$2.22 MX$41.62

-25.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 €1.25

$1.42 MX$26.61

-1.41%

Eggs

$3.36 €3.01

$2.52 MX$47.36

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.37 €11.08

$7.26 MX$136

70.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 €7.04

$7.70 MX$144

2.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.26 €12.77

$12.69 MX$238

12.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 €2.61

$2.78 MX$52.3

4.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.37 MX$25.68

6.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 €2.30

$2.55 MX$47.89

0.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.53 €2.26

$2.12 MX$39.86

19.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 €1.45

$1.94 MX$36.39

-16.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.89 MX$35.41

16.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 €1.15

$1.15 MX$21.53

11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 €0.77

$1.18 MX$22.13

-27.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.72 €6.02

$4.30 MX$80.6

56.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 €7.15

$9.95 MX$187

-19.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.25

$1.58 MX$29.73

-12.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.60

$2.67 MX$50.1

-32.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 €1.50

$0.55 MX$10.39

203.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.61 €29.20

$26.62 MX$500

22.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.97 MX$93.3

12.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$3.33 MX$62.5

-69.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.32 €26.26

$5.36 MX$101

447.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.44 MX$27.11

25.00%

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

$32.9K €29.5K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

59.23%

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

$29.4K €26.3K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

25.37%

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

$143 €128

$84.8 MX$1,592

68.40%

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

$18.23 €16.33

$23.41 MX$439

-22.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.63 €20.26

$28.66 MX$538

-21.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.92 €40.23

$57.1 MX$1,071

-21.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.89 €14.23

$28.91 MX$543

-45.04%

Cinema Ticket

$9.94 €8.90

$5.14 MX$96.5

93.39%

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

$483 €433

$207 MX$3,878

133.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.1K €9,038

$3,927 MX$73.7K

156.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.4 €86.3

$43.35 MX$814

122.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.25 €28.88

$41.44 MX$778

-22.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 €66.8

$74.2 MX$1,393

0.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$89.3 MX$1,676

34.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$896 €802

$980 MX$18.4K

-8.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$675 €605

$381 MX$7,150

77.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 €1,217

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-20.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,024 €917

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-4.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,327 €2,979

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-15.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,222 €1,990

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-63.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,779 €1,593

$735 MX$13.8K

142.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

11.45

-73.97%

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

Last update for Barakaldo: 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

Barakaldo

$675 41.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 43.6% $294

Groceries & Markets

Barakaldo

$265 16.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 3.7% $9.7

Eating Out

Barakaldo

$249 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 18.8% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barakaldo

$184 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 25.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Barakaldo

$145 8.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 23.2% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Barakaldo

$65 4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 3.9% $2.5

Getting Around

Barakaldo

$50 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 0.8% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $896 in Barakaldo and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barakaldo pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Barakaldo vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $265 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barakaldo

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

07:07 7:07 AM

6 h behind Barakaldo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

101,229

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

Barakaldo Playa del Carmen 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barakaldo
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,633 in Barakaldo and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barakaldo is about 2.4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $896 in Barakaldo versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $68 in Barakaldo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,633 per month in Barakaldo versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,633 in Barakaldo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Barakaldo. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Barakaldo on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.