Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Caraguatatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Caraguatatuba: $778 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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 Caraguatatuba
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Caraguatatuba Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Caraguatatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$778

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $778 in Caraguatatuba.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Caraguatatuba $778

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,259 in Caraguatatuba.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Caraguatatuba $1,259

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,739 in Caraguatatuba.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Caraguatatuba $1,739

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 55% more expensive than in Caraguatatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Caraguatatuba 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.94 R$37.36

57.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$26.88 R$145

61.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.24 R$44.37

42.96%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.15 R$11.58

77.21%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.10 R$5.91

16.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.86 R$4.65

-9.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.25 R$12.11

40.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.94 R$15.81

67.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.00 R$5.38

41.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.50 R$8.07

48.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.23 R$6.60

15.45%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.83 R$9.84

37.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$5.62 R$30.24

29.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.96 R$15.92

160.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$7.28 R$39.20

74.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.94 R$10.43

43.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.58 R$8.50

-13.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.39 R$7.48

83.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.26 R$6.78

68.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.24 R$6.65

56.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.77 R$4.14

145.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.67 R$3.60

71.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.77 R$4.16

53.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.00 R$10.78

115.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$6.33 R$34.08

57.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.46 R$7.84

8.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.36 R$12.70

13.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.96 R$5.16

-42.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$21.53 R$116

23.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.08 R$5.84

360.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.66 R$3.56

404.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$3.30 R$17.77

62.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.21 R$6.52

19.01%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$14.3K R$77.0K

44.52%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$27.6K R$148.7K

-15.08%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$62.2 R$335

36.34%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$12.19 R$65.6

92.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$21.17 R$114

35.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$20.15 R$108

183.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$15.02 R$80.9

92.48%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$7.41 R$39.89

-30.63%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$207 R$1,111

0.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$3,944 R$21.2K

-0.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$53.3 R$287

-18.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$52.1 R$280

-20.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$72.4 R$390

2.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$55.4 R$298

61.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$396 R$2,132

147.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$218 R$1,175

74.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$790 R$4,254

116.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$484 R$2,606

122.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,610 R$8,666

144.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,166 R$6,277

427.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$308 R$1,658

138.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.15

40.49%

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 Caraguatatuba: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Caraguatatuba

$218 28.1% 42.7% $163

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Caraguatatuba

$164 21% 35.8% $91

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Caraguatatuba

$131 16.8% 35.2% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Caraguatatuba

$96 12.3% 30.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Caraguatatuba

$105 13.5% 6.1% $6.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Caraguatatuba

$35 4.5% 48.1% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Caraguatatuba

$30 3.8% 41% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $396 in Caraguatatuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $27 in Caraguatatuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $164 per month, with Caraguatatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Caraguatatuba

🕒 Local time

09:43 9:43 AM

11:43 11:43 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

134,873

💱 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 = 0.167 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 = 20.97 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 = 0.167 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Caraguatatuba 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Caraguatatuba

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 Caraguatatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caraguatatuba is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $396 in Caraguatatuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Caraguatatuba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $778 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Caraguatatuba but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Caraguatatuba 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.

Expats usually find Caraguatatuba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.