Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barquisimeto and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Barquisimeto: $793 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Barquisimeto
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Barquisimeto Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Barquisimeto

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$793

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $793 in Barquisimeto versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Barquisimeto $793
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,355 in Barquisimeto versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Barquisimeto $1,355
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,917 in Barquisimeto versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Barquisimeto $1,917
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Barquisimeto costs roughly 34% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Barquisimeto 41% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.81 VES 8,757

$10.67 MX$200

-8.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.18 VES 43.9K

$43.80 MX$819

12.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.69 VES 10.4K

$11.79 MX$220

-0.85%

Cappuccino

$1.72 VES 1,540

$3.79 MX$70.8

-54.62%

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

$1.54 VES 1,371

$1.30 MX$24.26

18.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 VES 1,011

$0.83 MX$15.59

36.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 VES 1,092

$3.15 MX$58.9

-61.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 VES 2,923

$4.93 MX$92.3

-33.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 VES 1,838

$1.41 MX$26.35

46.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 VES 1,181

$2.20 MX$41.07

-40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 VES 1,173

$1.47 MX$27.54

-10.88%

Eggs

$2.19 VES 1,950

$2.50 MX$46.70

-12.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.19 VES 5,527

$7.29 MX$136

-15.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 VES 6,008

$7.95 MX$149

-15.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.89 VES 6,155

$12.86 MX$241

-46.42%

Apples (1kg)

$4.42 VES 3,949

$2.90 MX$54.2

52.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 VES 1,370

$1.38 MX$25.87

10.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.78 VES 694

$2.49 MX$46.59

-68.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.97 VES 865

$2.03 MX$37.97

-52.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 VES 841

$2.02 MX$37.88

-53.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 VES 1,177

$1.90 MX$35.60

-30.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 VES 575

$1.14 MX$21.41

-43.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 VES 1,361

$1.24 MX$23.17

22.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 VES 2,621

$4.27 MX$79.9

-31.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 VES 8,949

$9.81 MX$184

2.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 VES 1,117

$1.59 MX$29.66

-21.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 VES 2,451

$2.75 MX$51.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 VES 384

$0.51 MX$9.63

-15.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.79 VES 36.4K

$27.39 MX$512

48.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 VES 4,452

$4.76 MX$89.1

4.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 VES 1,366

$3.25 MX$60.8

-52.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.95 VES 13.3K

$5.39 MX$101

177.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.73 VES 654

$1.53 MX$28.58

-52.29%

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

$25.3K VES 22.6M

$21.2K MX$396.8K

19.39%

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

$30.2K VES 27.0M

$23.3K MX$435.1K

30.03%

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

$15.56 VES 13.9K

$83.5 MX$1,562

-81.36%

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

$7.51 VES 6,702

$23.19 MX$434

-67.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.87 VES 32.9K

$27.61 MX$516

33.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.58 VES 30.0K

$56.4 MX$1,056

-40.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.39 VES 7,491

$28.19 MX$527

-70.24%

Cinema Ticket

$5.05 VES 4,509

$5.00 MX$93.5

1.00%

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

$57.5 VES 51.3K

$207 MX$3,873

-72.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$502 VES 448.2K

$5,231 MX$97.8K

-90.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.24 VES 42.2K

$43.45 MX$813

8.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.90 VES 35.6K

$42.54 MX$796

-6.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.9 VES 82.9K

$72.8 MX$1,361

27.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.1 VES 71.5K

$88.4 MX$1,653

-9.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$212 VES 189.3K

$995 MX$18.6K

-78.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$142 VES 126.3K

$382 MX$7,152

-62.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$473 VES 421.9K

$1,674 MX$31.3K

-71.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 VES 287.3K

$1,081 MX$20.2K

-70.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$464 VES 414.0K

$3,909 MX$73.1K

-88.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$248 VES 221.4K

$6,138 MX$114.8K

-95.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 VES 165.2K

$832 MX$15.6K

-77.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

118.34%

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

Last update for Barquisimeto: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Barquisimeto

$218 27.5%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 18% $39

Eating Out

Barquisimeto

$158 19.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 27.1% $43

Accommodation & Living

Barquisimeto

$142 17.8%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 170% $241

Clothing & Footwear

Barquisimeto

$117 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 5% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barquisimeto

$60 7.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 124% $74

Getting Around

Barquisimeto

$55 7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 8.5% $4.7

Sport & Entertainment

Barquisimeto

$44 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 52.1% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $212 in Barquisimeto and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $49 in Barquisimeto vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $218 vs $257, with Barquisimeto cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇻🇪 Barquisimeto

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:39 1:39 PM

12:39 12:39 PM

1 h behind Barquisimeto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,240,714

149,923

💱 Currency

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 VES = 11.2 USD

10,000 VES = 9.97 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to VES – Venezuelan Bolívar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Bolívar (Bs.S)

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 893 VES (1,000 VES = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 1,003 VES (10,000 VES = 9.97 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

USD to VES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barquisimeto Playa del Carmen 2,230 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barquisimeto
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $793 in Barquisimeto and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Barquisimeto is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 78% lower in Barquisimeto. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $212 in Barquisimeto versus $995 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 $44 versus $49 in Barquisimeto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $793 per month in Barquisimeto versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Barquisimeto is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $793 in Barquisimeto versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Barquisimeto but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Barquisimeto 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 – Barquisimeto wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.