Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Aracaju

For one person, living is cheaper in Aracaju: $659 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Aracaju
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Aracaju Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Aracaju

🇧🇷 Brazil

$659

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Aracaju

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Aracaju actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $659 in Aracaju.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Aracaju $659

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,043 in Aracaju.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Aracaju $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,427 in Aracaju.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Aracaju $1,427

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 83% more expensive than in Aracaju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Aracaju 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$4.63 R$25.28

130.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$21.63 R$118

102.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$5.42 R$29.61

117.53%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.92 R$10.48

97.40%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.07 R$5.85

21.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.55 R$3.02

50.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.88 R$10.25

67.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.90 R$15.85

70.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.03 R$5.61

36.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.40 R$7.65

57.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.09 R$5.94

34.86%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.59 R$8.66

57.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$6.99 R$38.20

4.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.60 R$19.63

120.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.82 R$37.24

88.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.94 R$10.57

49.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.23 R$6.74

12.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.66 R$3.59

277.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.82 R$4.49

147.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.03 R$5.61

96.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.90 R$4.90

111.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.51 R$2.79

123.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.70 R$3.83

77.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.25 R$12.30

89.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$5.58 R$30.48

75.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.14 R$6.22

39.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.85 R$10.13

48.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.85 R$4.65

-40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$38.97 R$213

-29.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.16 R$6.33

310.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.61 R$3.33

432.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$6.05 R$33.05

-10.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.19 R$6.50

28.57%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.4K R$116.7K

-0.71%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$31.0K R$169.1K

-24.89%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$58.7 R$320

42.28%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.26 R$50.6

150.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$15.77 R$86.1

75.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$21.03 R$115

168.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$25.96 R$142

8.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.85 R$31.92

-14.53%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$277 R$1,513

-25.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$5,017 R$27.4K

4.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$53.1 R$290

-18.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$32.44 R$177

31.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$81.1 R$443

-10.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$75.3 R$411

17.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$280 R$1,530

255.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$135 R$736

183.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$590 R$3,224

183.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$250 R$1,366

331.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,204 R$6,573

224.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$849 R$4,636

622.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$422 R$2,302

97.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.50%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Aracaju: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Aracaju

$135 20.5% 64.8% $248

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Aracaju

$154 23.4% 40.1% $103

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Aracaju

$98 14.9% 51.1% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Aracaju

$84 12.7% 37.7% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Aracaju

$109 16.5% 2.1% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Aracaju

$33 5% 50.8% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Aracaju

$47 7.1% 7.7% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $280 in Aracaju. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 97% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $22 in Aracaju for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $154 per month, with Aracaju cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Aracaju

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

19:56 7:56 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

602,757

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.11 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Aracaju 6,490 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Aracaju

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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $659 in Aracaju, so Aracaju is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 97% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $280 in Aracaju. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $277 in Aracaju. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $659 in Aracaju versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Aracaju but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Aracaju 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 – Aracaju 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.