Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Crato

For one person, living is cheaper in Crato: $823 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Crato
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Crato Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Crato

🇧🇷 Brazil

$823

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $823 in Crato.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Crato $823

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,308 in Crato.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Crato $1,308

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,793 in Crato.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Crato $1,793

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 46% more expensive than in Crato, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Crato 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$5.47 R$30.00

95.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$29.34 R$161

49.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$7.12 R$39.05

65.59%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.91 R$10.48

98.43%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$1.25 R$6.87

4.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.70 R$3.84

18.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$1.88 R$10.33

67.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$2.82 R$15.47

74.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$0.93 R$5.11

51.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.54 R$8.47

42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.16 R$6.34

26.72%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.09 R$11.45

19.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$8.59 R$47.12

-15.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$4.12 R$22.60

92.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$7.84 R$43.04

64.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.07 R$11.34

40.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.23 R$6.74

12.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.12 R$6.15

122.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.52 R$8.36

33.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.17 R$6.42

72.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.01 R$5.52

88.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.76 R$4.20

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.71 R$3.88

74.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$2.38 R$13.05

79.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$7.52 R$41.29

30.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.22 R$6.70

30.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$1.98 R$10.87

38.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.93 R$5.12

-45.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$41.59 R$228

-34.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.20 R$6.57

296.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.86 R$4.71

277.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$7.64 R$41.94

-29.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.16 R$6.36

31.90%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$21.9K R$120.1K

-3.04%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$31.6K R$173.7K

-26.50%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$71.7 R$393

16.52%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$11.65 R$63.9

99.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$20.02 R$110

37.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$24.57 R$135

129.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$25.53 R$140

10.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$6.67 R$36.60

-25.04%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$264 R$1,451

-21.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$6,689 R$36.7K

-21.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$51.8 R$284

-16.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$45.64 R$250

-6.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$82.5 R$453

-11.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$67.5 R$370

31.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$338 R$1,856

194.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$229 R$1,258

66.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$629 R$3,452

166.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$449 R$2,464

140.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,578 R$8,661

147.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,122 R$6,156

447.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Crato: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Crato

$229 27.9% 40% $153

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Crato

$180 21.8% 30.3% $78

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Crato

$111 13.5% 44.7% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Crato

$103 12.6% 23.1% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Crato

$111 13.5% 0.1% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Crato

$38 4.6% 42.9% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Crato

$51 6.2% 0.7% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $338 in Crato. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $29 in Crato for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $180 per month, with Crato cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Crato

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

00:09 12:09 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

131,050

💱 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 Crato 6,060 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Crato

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 Crato: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Crato wins on cost – living expenses run 32% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Crato the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,235 in Crato 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $338 in Crato. 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 34% less than in Crato. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $264 in Crato. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Crato 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.