Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Barreiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,652 in Barreiro, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Barreiro
Learn more

Barreiro Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Barreiro

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,652

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,652 in Barreiro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Barreiro $1,652

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,342 in Barreiro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Barreiro $2,342

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,032 in Barreiro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Barreiro $3,032

Playa del Carmen is about 27% cheaper than Barreiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Barreiro is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$15.64 €13.95

-30.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$44.05 €39.30

-1.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.59 €8.55

22.84%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.57 €2.30

48.25%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$2.04 €1.82

-37.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$2.19 €1.96

-64.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$3.39 €3.02

-6.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$3.29 €2.93

49.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.03 €0.92

36.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.53 €1.36

45.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.63 €1.46

-12.88%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$3.30 €2.94

-23.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.72 €7.78

-16.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$7.99 €7.13

-3.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$14.81 €13.22

-14.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$2.73 €2.43

1.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.26 €1.13

8.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.97 €1.76

29.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.45 €1.30

46.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.56 €1.39

24.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.70 €1.52

11.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.66 €1.48

-30.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.67 €0.60

76.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$5.83 €5.20

-26.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$6.00 €5.35

65.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.22 €1.09

29.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.05 €0.94

154.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$1.41 €1.26

-60.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$45.57 €40.65

-41.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$2.31 €2.06

115.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.77 €0.68

332.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$16.79 €14.98

-68.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$2.16 €1.93

-33.33%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$33.2K €29.6K

-37.80%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$37.4K €33.4K

-37.27%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$110 €98.2

-22.99%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$21.24 €18.95

10.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$35.43 €31.61

-19.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$36.64 €32.69

55.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$13.45 €12.00

114.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$8.86 €7.90

-41.99%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$624 €557

-66.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$11.2K €10.0K

-64.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$77.1 €68.8

-43.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$37.18 €33.17

11.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$83.6 €74.6

-11.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$105 €93.9

-15.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$942 €840

4.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$777 €693

-51.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$1,476 €1,317

15.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$1,067 €952

0.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$3,883 €3,464

1.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$2,788 €2,488

120.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$917 €818

-19.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.67

211.99%

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 Barreiro: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Barreiro

$777 47% 104% $396

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Barreiro

$235 14.2% 7.7% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Barreiro

$225 13.6% 11.3% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Barreiro

$167 10.1% 21.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Barreiro

$136 8.3% 22.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Barreiro

$54 3.3% 19.3% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Barreiro

$57 3.5% 13.7% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $942 in Barreiro. 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 25% higher in Barreiro, 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $44 in Barreiro. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $235 in Barreiro – so Barreiro wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇹 Barreiro

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

13:10 1:10 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

78,359

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Barreiro 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Barreiro

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 Barreiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,652 in Barreiro – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 27% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,479 in Barreiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $980 in Playa del Carmen and $942 in Barreiro. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,652 in Barreiro. That makes Playa del Carmen about 27% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $624 in Barreiro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Barreiro at $1,652. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barreiro 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,652 in Barreiro. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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