Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bray

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,126 in Bray, rent and utilities included – about $23,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
151

Cost of Living Index in Bray
Learn more

Bray Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bray

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,126

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,126 in Bray, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Bray $3,126

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,556 in Bray, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Bray $4,556

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,986 in Bray, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Bray $5,986

Playa del Carmen is about 61% cheaper than Bray, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Bray is 131% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$23.73 €21.11

-54.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$101 €90.2

-56.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$13.57 €12.07

-13.34%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.83 €4.30

-23.81%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.99 €2.66

-55.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$2.20 €1.96

-62.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$7.94 €7.06

-61.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$7.02 €6.25

-29.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.62 €1.44

-9.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.29 €2.04

-3.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.07 €1.84

-28.50%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.40 €3.92

-43.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.04 €8.93

-25.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$11.01 €9.79

-27.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$13.34 €11.87

-5.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.76 €2.46

0.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.24 €1.99

-36.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.77 €2.46

-5.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$4.02 €3.58

-46.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.91 €1.70

5.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.55 €1.37

28.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.26 €1.12

-9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.83 €1.63

-34.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$20.38 €18.13

-79.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$13.72 €12.20

-26.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$3.51 €3.12

-56.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.46 €3.08

-23.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$2.54 €2.26

-79.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$110 €97.9

-75.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$5.25 €4.67

-6.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.44 €1.28

138.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$38.24 €34.01

-85.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.06 €1.84

-29.61%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$39.5K €35.1K

-46.37%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$38.4K €34.1K

-39.98%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$271 €241

-68.48%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$20.64 €18.36

13.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$50.8 €45.20

-44.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$65.5 €58.3

-5.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$17.04 €15.15

68.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$15.76 €14.01

-67.64%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$1,004 €893

-79.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$14.5K €12.9K

-72.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$99.0 €88.1

-55.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$48.70 €43.32

-15.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$109 €96.7

-33.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$113 €101

-20.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$2,222 €1,977

-55.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$1,689 €1,502

-77.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$3,799 €3,379

-55.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$2,766 €2,460

-60.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$10.2K €9,101

-61.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$6,718 €5,976

-8.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$3,150 €2,802

-76.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.82

199.74%

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 Bray: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Bray

$1.7K 54% 353% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Bray

$336 10.8% 30.2% $78

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Bray

$363 11.6% 81.4% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Bray

$342 11% 149% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bray

$166 5.3% 49% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Bray

$97 3.1% 34% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Bray

$133 4.2% 157% $81

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,222 in Bray. 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 327% higher in Bray, 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 $101 in Bray. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $336 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇪 Bray

🕒 Local time

04:15 4:15 AM

09:15 9:15 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

33,512

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Bray 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bray

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 Bray: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Bray is pricier by about 160%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,690 in Bray. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $3,126 in Bray. That's a gap of about 160%.

Public transport costs about 300% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Bray at $3,126. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bray it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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