Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Aracatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Aracatuba: $876 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Aracatuba
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Aracatuba Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Aracatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Aracatuba actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $876 in Aracatuba, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Aracatuba $876

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,399 in Aracatuba, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Aracatuba $1,399

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,922 in Aracatuba, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Aracatuba $1,922

Playa del Carmen costs about 37% more than Aracatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Aracatuba are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Aracatuba 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$6.10 R$30.92

78.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$32.65 R$165

35.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.61 R$38.59

54.53%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.06 R$10.42

78.64%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.27 R$6.46

5.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.77 R$3.91

6.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.02 R$10.22

51.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.05 R$15.45

61.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.05 R$5.33

40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.73 R$8.78

28.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.30 R$6.60

13.85%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.24 R$11.34

11.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$9.25 R$46.89

-18.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.27 R$21.65

86.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$8.60 R$43.59

46.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.21 R$11.19

25.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.27 R$6.43

12.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.22 R$6.17

114.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.59 R$8.08

34.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.22 R$6.17

65.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.11 R$5.63

79.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.84 R$4.25

35.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.79 R$3.99

51.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.53 R$12.80

68.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.89 R$39.97

27.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.27 R$6.45

21.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.13 R$10.80

24.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.04 R$5.25

-49.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$43.23 R$219

-36.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.27 R$6.43

285.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.91 R$4.63

276.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$7.86 R$39.85

-31.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.32 R$6.70

9.85%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$24.2K R$122.9K

-12.73%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$32.7K R$165.9K

-29.67%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$75.1 R$381

13.65%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$12.43 R$63.0

88.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$20.99 R$106

35.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$25.96 R$132

139.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$27.51 R$139

4.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.16 R$36.28

-28.77%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$279 R$1,417

-28.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$7,322 R$37.1K

-46.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$56.4 R$286

-21.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$50.5 R$256

-18.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$91.4 R$463

-20.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$72.9 R$369

22.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$360 R$1,826

171.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$238 R$1,206

56.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$681 R$3,452

146.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$468 R$2,371

134.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,706 R$8,646

131.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,190 R$6,033

415.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$386 R$1,956

91.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Aracatuba: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Aracatuba

$238 27.2% 36.2% $135

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Aracatuba

$193 22.1% 25.1% $65

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Aracatuba

$121 13.8% 39.7% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Aracatuba

$109 12.4% 20.9% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Aracatuba

$122 13.9% 9.3% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Aracatuba

$40 4.6% 44.4% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Aracatuba

$53 6.1% 2.9% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $360 in Aracatuba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 91% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $33.00 in Aracatuba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $193 – making Aracatuba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Aracatuba

🕒 Local time

17:13 5:13 PM

19:13 7:13 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

200,124

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Aracatuba 6,120 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Aracatuba

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 Aracatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $876 in Aracatuba – roughly 37% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,314 in Aracatuba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aracatuba, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $279 in Aracatuba. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 34% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Aracatuba, where all-in costs run around $876, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Aracatuba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $876 in Aracatuba to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Aracatuba. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.