Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barbados and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $2,088 in Barbados, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

🇧🇧 Barbados
$2,088
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,215
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Barbados is 41.8% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 71.8% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Barbados is 66.1% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 62.1% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$20.12 BBD 40.25
$10.97 MX$201
83.41%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$101 BBD 203
$44.85 MX$823
126.13%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.70 BBD 21.40
$11.92 MX$219
-10.23%
Cappuccino
$5.18 BBD 10.35
$3.80 MX$69.9
36.32%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.98 BBD 3.96
$1.31 MX$24.08
51.15%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.49 BBD 2.98
$0.86 MX$15.72
73.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.48 BBD 4.97
$3.21 MX$59.0
-22.74%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.03 BBD 8.05
$5.01 MX$92.0
-19.56%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$3.65 BBD 7.29
$1.46 MX$26.77
150.00%
White Bread (500g)
$2.87 BBD 5.74
$2.33 MX$42.72
23.18%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.95 BBD 7.90
$1.44 MX$26.48
174.31%
Eggs
$5.66 BBD 11.32
$2.46 MX$45.20
130.08%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.70 BBD 15.39
$7.70 MX$141
-
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.39 BBD 20.78
$7.89 MX$145
31.69%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.00 BBD 20.00
$12.80 MX$235
-21.88%
Apples (1kg)
$4.92 BBD 9.84
$2.92 MX$53.6
68.49%
Banana (1kg)
$3.38 BBD 6.75
$1.42 MX$26.11
138.03%
Oranges (1kg)
$5.94 BBD 11.87
$2.57 MX$47.10
131.13%
Tomato (1kg)
$6.33 BBD 12.67
$2.14 MX$39.24
195.79%
Potato (1kg)
$5.45 BBD 10.89
$1.95 MX$35.75
179.49%
Onion (1kg)
$3.98 BBD 7.96
$1.94 MX$35.55
105.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.67 BBD 5.35
$1.15 MX$21.13
132.17%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$2.53 BBD 5.06
$1.22 MX$22.42
107.38%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$8.23 BBD 16.45
$4.38 MX$80.3
87.90%
Wine (Bottle)
$16.21 BBD 32.41
$9.85 MX$181
64.57%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.91 BBD 3.82
$1.54 MX$28.23
24.03%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.15 BBD 6.30
$2.72 MX$49.86
15.81%
🚌 Getting Around
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.78 BBD 3.55
$0.52 MX$9.64
242.31%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$27.42 MX$503
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$9.58 BBD 19.16
$4.91 MX$90.2
95.11%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.99 BBD 5.97
$3.52 MX$64.7
-15.06%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$40.45 BBD 80.9
$5.69 MX$104
610.90%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.03 BBD 4.06
$1.54 MX$28.27
31.82%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$36.8K BBD 73.6K
$21.2K MX$389.9K
73.29%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.1K BBD 76.3K
$24.5K MX$449.6K
55.77%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$170 BBD 341
$83.6 MX$1,535
103.90%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$50.2 BBD 100
$24.03 MX$441
108.91%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$79.0 BBD 158
$29.33 MX$539
169.42%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$72.1 BBD 144
$64.9 MX$1,191
11.21%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$29.46 MX$541
-
Cinema Ticket
$11.27 BBD 22.54
$5.09 MX$93.4
121.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
-
$208 MX$3,813
-
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,179 BBD 12.4K
$4,045 MX$74.3K
52.74%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$50.2 BBD 100
$44.55 MX$818
12.73%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$29.43 BBD 58.9
$42.06 MX$772
-30.03%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$104 BBD 208
$75.5 MX$1,387
37.63%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$82.2 BBD 164
$91.4 MX$1,678
-10.01%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$872 BBD 1,743
$986 MX$18.1K
-11.63%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$832 BBD 1,664
$385 MX$7,072
116.00%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,797 BBD 3,594
$1,713 MX$31.5K
4.87%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,988 BBD 3,977
$1,108 MX$20.4K
79.39%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,496 BBD 6,993
$4,016 MX$73.7K
-12.93%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,557 BBD 7,114
$6,247 MX$114.7K
-43.06%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barbados
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,432 BBD 2,864
$758 MX$13.9K
88.92%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.39
11.45
-26.72%

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

Last update for Barbados: October 6, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barbados
$832
Playa del Carmen
$385 53.7% $447
Groceries & Markets
Barbados
$423
Playa del Carmen
$260 38.4% $162
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barbados
$300
Playa del Carmen
$137 54.3% $163
Eating Out
Barbados
$290
Playa del Carmen
$204 29.6% $86
Clothing & Footwear
Barbados
$120
Playa del Carmen
$114 4.6% $5.5
Sport & Entertainment
Barbados
$95
Playa del Carmen
$75 20.7% $20
Getting Around
Barbados
$32 *
Playa del Carmen
$52 64.5% $20

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Good to know
🇧🇧 Barbados
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
07:31 7:31 AM
06:31 6:31 AM
1 h behind Barbados
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
303,431
149,923
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BBD – Barbados Dollar Converter

Barbados Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BBD (1 BBD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.24 BBD (1 BBD = 0.446 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barbados Playa del Carmen 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Barbados
  • 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

Barbados vs other spots: cost of living compared

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