Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Barretos

For one person, living is cheaper in Barretos: $786 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Barretos
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Barretos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Barretos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$786

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $786 in Barretos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Barretos $786

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,264 in Barretos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Barretos $1,264

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,742 in Barretos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Barretos $1,742

Playa del Carmen costs about 53% more than Barretos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Barretos are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Barretos 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$6.48 R$35.55

64.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$22.43 R$123

95.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$5.90 R$32.40

99.83%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.53 R$8.40

147.71%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$1.19 R$6.51

9.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.54 R$2.96

53.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$2.27 R$12.43

38.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$2.75 R$15.08

79.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$0.95 R$5.19

48.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.86 R$10.18

18.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.23 R$6.75

19.51%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.30 R$12.63

8.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$10.14 R$55.7

-28.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$4.41 R$24.18

80.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$10.10 R$55.4

27.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.22 R$12.20

30.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.52 R$8.33

-9.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.41 R$7.74

76.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.26 R$6.94

61.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.22 R$6.72

65.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.16 R$6.39

63.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.91 R$4.97

25.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.75 R$4.14

65.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$2.35 R$12.87

81.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$7.77 R$42.66

26.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.40 R$7.70

13.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.35 R$12.89

17.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$1.00 R$5.51

-49.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$41.65 R$229

-34.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.09 R$5.97

336.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.72 R$3.95

351.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$7.90 R$43.36

-31.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$0.87 R$4.80

75.86%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$22.1K R$121.1K

-3.87%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$31.4K R$172.2K

-25.85%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$28.27 R$155

195.33%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$5.57 R$30.55

316.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$14.98 R$82.2

84.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$23.15 R$127

143.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$25.47 R$140

10.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$7.49 R$41.12

-33.24%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$401 R$2,203

-48.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$10.2K R$56.1K

-48.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$60.9 R$334

-28.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$22.28 R$122

90.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$82.6 R$453

-11.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$64.3 R$353

37.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$335 R$1,840

196.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$231 R$1,265

65.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$636 R$3,489

163.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$450 R$2,467

140.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,579 R$8,664

147.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,130 R$6,202

443.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$532 R$2,921

56.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.81

5.92%

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 Barretos: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Barretos

$230 29.3% 39.7% $152

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Barretos

$203 25.8% 21.1% $54

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Barretos

$112 14.2% 44.3% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Barretos

$49 6.2% 63.6% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Barretos

$104 13.2% 6.9% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Barretos

$38 4.9% 42.6% $28

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Barretos

$50 6.4% 0.2% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $335 in Barretos. 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 56% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $22 in Barretos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $203 – making Barretos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Barretos

🕒 Local time

21:55 9:55 PM

23:55 11:55 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

122,485

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Barretos 6,210 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Barretos

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 Barretos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $786 in Barretos – Barretos comes out roughly 35% 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 $1,179 in Barretos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barretos, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $335 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $22 in Barretos. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $786 in Barretos. That makes Barretos about 35% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Barretos, where all-in costs run around $786, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Barretos 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 $786 in Barretos to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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