Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Barbados

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,835 in Barbados, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Barbados
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Barbados Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Barbados

🇧🇧 Barbados

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,835 in Barbados.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Barbados $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,058 in Barbados.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Barbados $4,058

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $6,280 in Barbados.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Barbados $6,280

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 34% less than in Barbados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Barbados is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$24.59 BBD 49.18

-55.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$112 BBD 224

-61.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$12.57 BBD 25.15

-6.28%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$4.63 BBD 9.26

-17.71%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.17 BBD 4.34

-41.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.80 BBD 3.60

-56.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$3.08 BBD 6.16

2.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.03 BBD 8.06

22.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$3.61 BBD 7.22

-60.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.60 BBD 5.19

-14.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.99 BBD 7.98

-64.41%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$6.08 BBD 12.16

-58.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.57 BBD 13.14

10.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$10.07 BBD 20.14

-23.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$11.38 BBD 22.75

11.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$5.04 BBD 10.08

-44.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$4.32 BBD 8.63

-68.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$5.36 BBD 10.71

-52.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$5.66 BBD 11.32

-62.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$6.94 BBD 13.88

-72.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$4.75 BBD 9.50

-60.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$2.70 BBD 5.40

-57.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$2.68 BBD 5.37

-55.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$6.87 BBD 13.74

-37.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$15.80 BBD 31.61

-37.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.71 BBD 3.43

-7.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.05 BBD 6.10

-12.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.74 BBD 3.48

-68.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$4.99 BBD 9.97

-0.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$3.33 BBD 6.66

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.99 BBD 3.97

-27.64%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$49.2K BBD 98.3K

-57.97%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$39.2K BBD 78.5K

-40.18%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$101 BBD 203

-16.31%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$49.42 BBD 98.8

-52.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$86.9 BBD 174

-67.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$73.6 BBD 147

-22.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$8.66 BBD 17.32

-40.65%

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

$207 MX$3,882

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$45.91 BBD 91.8

-5.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$20.07 BBD 40.13

106.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$61.0 BBD 122

21.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$655 BBD 1,309

49.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$665 BBD 1,330

-42.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,814 BBD 3,629

-5.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$3,391 BBD 6,782

-68.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,318 BBD 2,636

-44.27%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Barbados: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Barbados

$665 36.2% 74.6% $284

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Barbados

$427 23.3% 67.6% $172

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Barbados

$329 17.9% 62.7% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Barbados

$238 13% 73.6% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Barbados

$57 * 3.1% 48.8% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Barbados

$91 5% 35% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Barbados

$29 * 1.6% 43.3% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $655 in Barbados. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barbados pays 79% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $112 in Barbados for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $427 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇧 Barbados

🕒 Local time

03:14 3:14 AM

04:14 4:14 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

623

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Barbados Dollar BBD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 BBD = 0.5 USD

1 BBD = 0.448 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BBD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Barbados Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BBD (1 BBD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.23 BBD (1 BBD = 0.448 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Barbados 3,040 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Barbados

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 Barbados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,835 in Barbados, so Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $655 in Barbados. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $112 in Barbados. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,835 in Barbados – Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,835 in Barbados, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Barbados. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Barbados on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.