Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caruaru and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Caruaru: $620 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Caruaru
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Caruaru Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Caruaru

🇧🇷 Brazil

$620

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $620 in Caruaru versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Caruaru $620
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,011 in Caruaru versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Caruaru $1,011
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,402 in Caruaru versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Caruaru $1,402
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Caruaru costs roughly 49% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Caruaru 54% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.43 R$29.53

$10.92 MX$203

-50.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.44 R$149

$43.37 MX$805

-36.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.33 R$39.82

$11.78 MX$219

-37.78%

Cappuccino

$1.48 R$8.03

$3.81 MX$70.7

-61.15%

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

$0.98 R$5.33

$1.28 MX$23.81

-23.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 R$3.30

$0.78 MX$14.54

-21.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.62 R$8.80

$3.17 MX$58.8

-48.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 R$12.00

$4.93 MX$91.7

-55.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 R$6.09

$1.41 MX$26.12

-20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R$5.64

$2.22 MX$41.17

-53.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 R$7.14

$1.42 MX$26.32

-7.75%

Eggs

$1.92 R$10.42

$2.52 MX$46.85

-23.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.28 R$23.29

$7.26 MX$135

-41.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.64 R$25.20

$7.70 MX$143

-39.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.05 R$38.31

$12.69 MX$236

-44.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.32 R$7.17

$2.78 MX$51.7

-52.52%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 R$4.87

$1.37 MX$25.41

-34.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.79 R$4.29

$2.55 MX$47.37

-69.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.92

$2.12 MX$39.43

-48.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.96

$1.94 MX$36.00

-24.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 R$6.44

$1.89 MX$35.02

-37.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 R$3.75

$1.15 MX$21.29

-40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 R$4.46

$1.18 MX$21.89

-30.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.85 R$15.52

$4.30 MX$79.8

-33.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 R$40.58

$9.95 MX$185

-25.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 R$7.76

$1.58 MX$29.41

-9.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 R$12.39

$2.67 MX$49.60

-14.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 R$4.73

$0.55 MX$10.28

58.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.84 R$135

$26.62 MX$494

-6.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R$5.94

$4.97 MX$92.3

-78.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.82 R$9.90

$3.33 MX$61.9

-45.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 R$15.54

$5.36 MX$99.5

-46.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.56

$1.44 MX$26.82

-15.97%

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

$22.2K R$120.7K

$20.7K MX$383.8K

7.44%

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

$30.5K R$166.0K

$23.5K MX$435.8K

30.10%

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

$52.3 R$284

$84.8 MX$1,575

-38.38%

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

$7.53 R$40.96

$23.41 MX$435

-67.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.28 R$50.5

$28.66 MX$532

-67.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.11 R$76.7

$57.1 MX$1,059

-75.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.73 R$151

$28.91 MX$537

-4.08%

Cinema Ticket

$6.73 R$36.61

$5.14 MX$95.4

30.93%

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

$101 R$549

$207 MX$3,836

-51.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,392 R$34.8K

$3,927 MX$72.9K

62.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.20 R$202

$43.35 MX$805

-14.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.77 R$249

$41.44 MX$770

10.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 R$444

$74.2 MX$1,378

9.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.7 R$330

$89.3 MX$1,657

-32.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$155 R$841

$980 MX$18.2K

-84.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$123 R$670

$381 MX$7,072

-67.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$334 R$1,815

$1,708 MX$31.7K

-80.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$241 R$1,310

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-77.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$248 R$1,350

$735 MX$13.6K

-66.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-3.93%

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

Last update for Caruaru: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Caruaru

$158 25.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 61% $97

Accommodation & Living

Caruaru

$123 19.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 209% $258

Eating Out

Caruaru

$102 16.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 98.4% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Caruaru

$101 16.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 10.2% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caruaru

$69 11.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 98.1% $68

Getting Around

Caruaru

$39 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 31% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Caruaru

$28 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 144% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $155 in Caruaru and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $27 in Caruaru vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $158 vs $255 per month, with Caruaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Caruaru

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:24 2:24 AM

00:24 12:24 AM

2 h behind Caruaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

377,911

149,923

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Caruaru Playa del Carmen 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Caruaru
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $620 in Caruaru and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Caruaru is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Caruaru. 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: $155 in Caruaru versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $101 in Caruaru versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $620 in Caruaru versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Caruaru but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Caruaru 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.

Expats usually find Caruaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.