Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paulista and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Paulista: $787 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Paulista
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Paulista Living Index
59

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

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Paulista

🇧🇷 Brazil

$787

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $787 in Paulista versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Paulista $787
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,225 in Paulista versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Paulista $1,225
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,663 in Paulista versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Paulista $1,663
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Paulista costs roughly 35% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Paulista 42% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.05 R$35.72

$10.76 MX$199

-34.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.92 R$80.7

$43.03 MX$795

-63.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.24 R$41.79

$11.79 MX$218

-30.11%

Cappuccino

$1.58 R$8.03

$3.87 MX$71.4

-59.17%

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

$1.07 R$5.43

$1.37 MX$25.29

-21.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 R$2.13

$0.84 MX$15.44

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 R$9.71

$3.10 MX$57.3

-38.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 R$17.94

$5.07 MX$93.6

-30.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.16

$1.44 MX$26.55

-29.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.82 R$9.20

$2.23 MX$41.23

-18.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.47 MX$27.17

-29.93%

Eggs

$2.17 R$11.02

$2.53 MX$46.71

-14.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.89 R$14.64

$7.30 MX$135

-60.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.96 R$15.01

$7.86 MX$145

-62.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.69 R$28.86

$12.79 MX$236

-55.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 R$10.25

$2.90 MX$53.6

-30.34%

Banana (1kg)

$0.95 R$4.80

$1.44 MX$26.53

-34.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.92 R$4.64

$2.55 MX$47.07

-63.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.18 R$5.97

$2.06 MX$38.03

-42.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 R$6.95

$2.00 MX$36.97

-31.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 R$4.26

$2.01 MX$37.07

-58.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 R$2.09

$1.19 MX$22.02

-65.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 R$4.37

$1.26 MX$23.23

-31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.27 R$11.52

$4.40 MX$81.4

-48.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.74 R$18.95

$9.59 MX$177

-61.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 R$7.87

$1.59 MX$29.41

-2.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 R$16.70

$2.81 MX$51.9

17.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.28

$0.57 MX$10.47

82.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.16 R$244

$27.82 MX$514

73.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 R$9.99

$4.98 MX$92.1

-60.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.17 R$5.95

$3.50 MX$64.6

-66.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 R$16.46

$5.40 MX$99.8

-39.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 R$5.51

$1.47 MX$27.08

-25.85%

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

$14.2K R$72.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

-32.14%

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

$30.0K R$151.9K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

25.38%

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

$46.71 R$237

$84.2 MX$1,556

-44.53%

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

$23.42 R$119

$23.99 MX$443

-2.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.62 R$120

$29.02 MX$536

-18.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.85 R$131

$63.0 MX$1,164

-58.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.58 R$140

$29.14 MX$539

-5.35%

Cinema Ticket

$5.88 R$29.81

$4.94 MX$91.3

19.03%

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

$69.7 R$353

$204 MX$3,763

-65.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,903 R$35.0K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

75.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.37 R$93.1

$43.60 MX$806

-57.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.6 R$348

$43.12 MX$797

59.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.4 R$256

$75.8 MX$1,400

-33.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.7 R$303

$88.6 MX$1,637

-32.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$354 R$1,796

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-64.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 R$1,201

$374 MX$6,911

-36.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$688 R$3,485

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-59.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$464 R$2,353

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-58.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,798 R$9,115

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-54.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,346 R$6,824

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-78.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

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 Paulista: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Paulista

$237 30.1%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 57.8% $137

Groceries & Markets

Paulista

$147 18.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 76.2% $112

Eating Out

Paulista

$123 15.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 64.8% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paulista

$94 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 46.3% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Paulista

$89 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 27.4% $24

Getting Around

Paulista

$60 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 12.6% $7.6

Sport & Entertainment

Paulista

$38 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 93.8% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $354 in Paulista and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $16.00 in Paulista vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $147 vs $258 per month, with Paulista cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Paulista

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:46 2:46 PM

12:46 12:46 PM

2 h behind Paulista

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,167

149,923

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Paulista Playa del Carmen 6,530 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Paulista
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

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

Paulista wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Paulista the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,180 in Paulista and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $354 in Paulista versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $69.7 in Paulista versus $204 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 76% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $787 in Paulista versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Paulista but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Paulista the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Paulista delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $787 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Paulista hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Paulista gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.