Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Castanhal

For one person, living is cheaper in Castanhal: $838 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Castanhal
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Castanhal Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Castanhal

🇧🇷 Brazil

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $838 in Castanhal.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Castanhal $838

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,350 in Castanhal.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Castanhal $1,350

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,862 in Castanhal.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Castanhal $1,862

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 44% more expensive than in Castanhal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Castanhal 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$5.63 R$30.61

93.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$32.17 R$175

34.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.37 R$40.07

59.84%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$1.91 R$10.41

99.48%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.19 R$6.47

7.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$0.70 R$3.78

11.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$1.84 R$10.01

72.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$2.75 R$14.93

79.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$0.83 R$4.50

69.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$1.49 R$8.10

48.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.14 R$6.22

24.56%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.00 R$10.85

26.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.88 R$42.82

-7.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.94 R$21.39

95.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$8.87 R$48.20

43.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$2.20 R$11.97

26.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.26 R$6.83

8.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.25 R$6.80

104.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$1.67 R$9.06

26.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.09 R$5.92

77.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$0.91 R$4.97

107.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$0.76 R$4.14

51.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.78 R$4.22

51.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$2.20 R$11.97

95.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.31 R$39.77

36.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.10 R$6.00

43.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$1.89 R$10.25

41.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.99 R$5.37

-44.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$40.44 R$220

-34.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$1.18 R$6.42

321.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$0.84 R$4.55

296.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$6.65 R$36.15

-19.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.15 R$6.25

25.22%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$19.0K R$103.1K

8.98%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$31.6K R$172.0K

-25.83%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$72.3 R$393

17.24%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$9.79 R$53.2

139.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$22.03 R$120

30.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$23.85 R$130

139.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$21.97 R$119

31.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$6.80 R$36.99

-24.41%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$288 R$1,566

-28.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$6,516 R$35.4K

-39.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$51.8 R$282

-16.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$46.71 R$254

-11.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$83.5 R$454

-11.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$67.7 R$368

31.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$350 R$1,901

180.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$243 R$1,324

56.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$651 R$3,537

162.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$506 R$2,750

112.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$1,564 R$8,504

152.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$1,119 R$6,083

450.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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 Castanhal: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Castanhal

$243 29% 36.1% $137

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Castanhal

$179 21.3% 29.8% $76

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Castanhal

$112 13.4% 44.5% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Castanhal

$104 12.4% 23.9% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Castanhal

$112 13.4% 0.6% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Castanhal

$37 4.5% 44.4% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Castanhal

$50 5.9% 1.4% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $350 in Castanhal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $32 in Castanhal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $179 per month, with Castanhal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Castanhal

🕒 Local time

02:49 2:49 AM

04:49 4:49 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

192,256

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Castanhal 4,910 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Castanhal

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 Castanhal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castanhal wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Castanhal the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,258 in Castanhal 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 $350 in Castanhal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Castanhal – a meal for two runs $32 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $838 in Castanhal – Castanhal is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Castanhal is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.