Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Canoas

For one person, living is cheaper in Canoas: $768 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Canoas
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Canoas Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Canoas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$768

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $768 in Canoas.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Canoas $768

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,186 in Canoas.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Canoas $1,186

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,604 in Canoas.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Canoas $1,604

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 57% more expensive than in Canoas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Canoas 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.68 R$30.59

92.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$18.54 R$99.8

133.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.59 R$35.48

78.76%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.72 R$9.27

121.51%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.98 R$5.25

30.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.44 R$2.37

77.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.11 R$5.96

185.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.52 R$8.18

224.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$0.79 R$4.23

78.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.18 R$6.37

88.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.69 R$3.73

105.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.95 R$10.50

29.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$9.07 R$48.83

-19.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$3.73 R$20.09

106.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.18 R$49.43

38.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.28 R$6.91

117.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.14 R$6.15

20.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$0.54 R$2.89

372.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.18 R$6.33

79.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.16 R$6.27

67.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.02 R$5.48

85.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.85 R$4.60

35.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.53 R$2.88

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.27 R$12.24

89.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.35 R$39.55

35.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.76 R$4.09

107.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.02 R$10.87

32.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.92 R$4.93

-40.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$32.25 R$174

-17.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.18 R$6.37

321.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.80 R$4.29

316.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.63 R$41.05

-29.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.16 R$6.26

24.14%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$20.1K R$108.3K

2.73%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$25.4K R$136.8K

-7.71%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$70.2 R$378

20.73%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$11.61 R$62.5

101.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$20.77 R$112

37.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$25.57 R$138

123.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$29.54 R$159

-2.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.62 R$30.27

-8.54%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$257 R$1,383

-19.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$6,686 R$36.0K

-41.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$47.91 R$258

-9.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$54.2 R$292

-23.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$55.8 R$301

32.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$56.4 R$303

58.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$294 R$1,582

233.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$228 R$1,225

67.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$520 R$2,798

228.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$418 R$2,247

157.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,634 R$8,792

141.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,263 R$6,797

387.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.5

-0.43%

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 Canoas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Canoas

$228 29.7% 40.2% $153

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Canoas

$163 21.2% 36.1% $92

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Canoas

$100 13.1% 50.5% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Canoas

$103 13.4% 25% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Canoas

$96 12.6% 13.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Canoas

$37 4.8% 45.3% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Canoas

$41 5.4% 18.6% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $294 in Canoas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $19 in Canoas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $163 per month, with Canoas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Canoas

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

04:03 4:03 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

347,657

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.166 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.38 BRL (1 BRL = 0.186 USD). 1 EUR = 6.01 BRL (1 BRL = 0.166 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Canoas 6,810 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Canoas

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 Canoas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $768 in Canoas, so Canoas is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,152 in Canoas to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $294 in Canoas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 17% less than in Canoas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $257 in Canoas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $768 in Canoas versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Canoas but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Canoas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.