Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Armacao dos Buzios

For one person, living is cheaper in Armacao dos Buzios: $865 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Armacao dos Buzios
Learn more

Armacao dos Buzios Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Armacao dos Buzios

🇧🇷 Brazil

$865

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Armacao dos Buzios

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 Armacao dos Buzios actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $865 in Armacao dos Buzios, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Armacao dos Buzios $865

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,324 in Armacao dos Buzios, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Armacao dos Buzios $1,324

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,783 in Armacao dos Buzios, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Armacao dos Buzios $1,783

Playa del Carmen costs about 39% more than Armacao dos Buzios, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Armacao dos Buzios are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Armacao dos Buzios 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$5.72 R$31.26

86.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$18.86 R$103

132.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$5.61 R$30.64

110.16%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.53 R$8.38

147.71%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.96 R$5.25

35.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.96 R$5.25

-13.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.09 R$5.95

188.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.22 R$12.12

122.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.90 R$4.93

56.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.91 R$10.40

15.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.01 R$5.51

45.54%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.47 R$8.05

70.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$10.24 R$55.9

-28.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.24 R$23.16

87.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$9.37 R$51.2

37.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.73 R$14.93

6.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.62 R$8.86

-14.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.53 R$8.37

62.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.74 R$9.51

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.76 R$4.14

165.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.02 R$5.57

86.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.66 R$3.60

72.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.65 R$3.54

90.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.83 R$15.48

50.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.40 R$40.39

32.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.09 R$5.96

45.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.24 R$12.26

22.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.00 R$5.49

-49.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$42.50 R$232

-35.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.18 R$6.42

303.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.85 R$4.64

282.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$8.80 R$48.06

-38.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.08 R$5.91

41.67%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.6K R$117.8K

-1.64%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$31.5K R$171.8K

-26.05%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$123 R$670

-32.00%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$10.02 R$54.7

131.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$21.61 R$118

27.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$24.42 R$133

131.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$25.92 R$142

8.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.23 R$39.48

-30.84%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$562 R$3,068

-63.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$12.1K R$66.3K

-56.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$38.38 R$210

13.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$45.02 R$246

-5.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$69.3 R$378

5.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$62.3 R$340

41.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$331 R$1,807

200.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$229 R$1,250

67.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$637 R$3,480

162.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$449 R$2,451

140.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,573 R$8,590

148.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,157 R$6,319

430.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.93

-4.02%

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 Armacao dos Buzios: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Armacao dos Buzios

$229 26.5% 40.2% $154

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Armacao dos Buzios

$196 22.6% 23.9% $62

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Armacao dos Buzios

$99 11.4% 50.8% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Armacao dos Buzios

$154 17.9% 15% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Armacao dos Buzios

$97 11.2% 13% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Armacao dos Buzios

$39 4.5% 41.5% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Armacao dos Buzios

$52 6% 3% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $331 in Armacao dos Buzios. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Armacao dos Buzios. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $196 – making Armacao dos Buzios the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Armacao dos Buzios

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

16:30 4:30 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

40,006

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Armacao dos Buzios 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Armacao dos Buzios

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 Armacao dos Buzios: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $865 in Armacao dos Buzios – Armacao dos Buzios comes out roughly 28% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,298 in Armacao dos Buzios. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Armacao dos Buzios, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $331 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 31% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $19 in Armacao dos Buzios. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Armacao dos Buzios, where all-in costs run around $865, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Armacao dos Buzios 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 $865 in Armacao dos Buzios to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.