Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Embu das Artes

For one person, living is cheaper in Embu das Artes: $849 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Embu das Artes
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Embu das Artes Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Embu das Artes

🇧🇷 Brazil

$849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Embu das Artes

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 Embu das Artes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $849 in Embu das Artes, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Embu das Artes $849

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,388 in Embu das Artes, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Embu das Artes $1,388

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,927 in Embu das Artes, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Embu das Artes $1,927

Playa del Carmen costs about 42% more than Embu das Artes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Embu das Artes are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Embu das Artes 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$6.50 R$35.76

64.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$37.23 R$205

17.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$8.04 R$44.25

46.64%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$2.10 R$11.53

80.48%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$1.37 R$7.51

-5.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.86 R$4.72

-3.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

$2.50 R$13.77

26.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

$4.14 R$22.79

19.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.10 R$6.04

28.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$1.69 R$9.32

30.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.10 R$6.07

33.64%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$2.56 R$14.08

-2.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.23 R$45.29

-11.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$4.06 R$22.33

95.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$9.83 R$54.1

30.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$2.47 R$13.59

17.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$1.62 R$8.91

-14.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.37 R$7.53

81.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.73 R$9.55

17.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.27 R$7.00

59.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.20 R$6.59

58.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$0.90 R$4.96

26.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$0.69 R$3.80

79.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$2.64 R$14.53

61.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$8.23 R$45.28

19.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$1.59 R$8.75

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$2.38 R$13.08

15.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$0.99 R$5.43

-48.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$36.02 R$198

-23.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$1.09 R$6.02

336.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$0.89 R$4.91

265.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$6.79 R$37.39

-20.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$1.18 R$6.49

29.66%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$21.9K R$120.5K

-3.14%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$31.2K R$171.8K

-25.47%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$45.20 R$249

84.71%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$14.04 R$77.3

65.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$17.46 R$96.1

58.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$25.79 R$142

118.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$26.29 R$145

7.23%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$7.15 R$39.35

-30.07%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$405 R$2,231

-48.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$6,641 R$36.6K

-21.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$51.7 R$285

-15.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$53.6 R$295

-20.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$90.1 R$496

-19.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$79.0 R$435

11.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$297 R$1,634

235.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$232 R$1,278

64.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$638 R$3,513

162.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$456 R$2,509

137.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$1,705 R$9,385

129.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,009 R$5,552

508.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.12

2.97%

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 Embu das Artes: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Embu das Artes

$232 27.3% 39.3% $150

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Embu das Artes

$200 23.6% 22.1% $57

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Embu das Artes

$131 15.4% 34.6% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Embu das Artes

$77 9% 42.9% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Embu das Artes

$123 14.5% 11% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Embu das Artes

$40 4.7% 39.7% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Embu das Artes

$46 5.4% 9.8% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $297 in Embu das Artes. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $37 in Embu das Artes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $200 – making Embu das Artes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Embu das Artes

🕒 Local time

13:55 1:55 PM

15:55 3:55 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

250,691

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Embu das Artes 6,570 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Embu das Artes

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 Embu das Artes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $849 in Embu das Artes – Embu das Artes comes out roughly 29% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,274 in Embu das Artes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Embu das Artes, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $297 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $849 in Embu das Artes. That makes Embu das Artes about 29% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 24% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Embu das Artes, where all-in costs run around $849, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Embu das Artes it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $849 in Embu das Artes to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.