Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ferraz de Vasconcelos

For one person, living is cheaper in Ferraz de Vasconcelos: $872 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Ferraz de Vasconcelos, Brazil
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
🇧🇷 Brazil
$872
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ferraz de Vasconcelos

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 Ferraz de Vasconcelos actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $872 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Ferraz de Vasconcelos $872

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,386 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Ferraz de Vasconcelos $1,386

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,900 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Ferraz de Vasconcelos $1,900

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 38% more expensive than in Ferraz de Vasconcelos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Ferraz de Vasconcelos 36% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$204
$5.83 R$31.18
87.31%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$808
$32.23 R$172
34.56%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$220
$7.94 R$42.45
48.36%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.0
$1.92 R$10.27
98.44%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$23.90
$1.33 R$7.10
-3.76%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.59
$0.80 R$4.28
-2.50%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.0
$1.99 R$10.65
59.30%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$92.0
$3.06 R$16.37
61.11%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.22
$1.02 R$5.44
38.24%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.33
$1.66 R$8.86
33.73%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.42
$1.27 R$6.80
11.81%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.03
$2.14 R$11.46
17.76%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$135
$9.44 R$50.5
-23.09%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$143
$4.18 R$22.34
84.21%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$237
$8.55 R$45.71
48.42%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$51.9
$2.25 R$12.06
23.56%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.50
$1.33 R$7.09
3.01%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.55
$1.13 R$6.06
125.66%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.58
$1.59 R$8.49
33.33%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.13
$1.25 R$6.70
55.20%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.16
$1.11 R$5.95
70.27%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.37
$0.84 R$4.50
36.90%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$21.98
$0.78 R$4.16
51.28%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.1
$2.53 R$13.52
69.96%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$185
$8.16 R$43.62
21.94%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.52
$1.27 R$6.79
24.41%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$49.79
$2.08 R$11.10
28.37%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.31
$1.04 R$5.53
-47.12%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$496
$44.26 R$237
-39.86%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$92.6
$1.28 R$6.83
288.28%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.1
$0.85 R$4.56
291.76%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$99.8
$8.11 R$43.38
-33.91%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$26.92
$1.25 R$6.68
15.20%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$385.2K
$23.0K R$123.1K
-10.25%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$437.4K
$33.6K R$179.6K
-30.13%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,581
$75.4 R$403
12.44%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$436
$12.30 R$65.8
90.33%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$534
$20.96 R$112
36.74%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,063
$25.49 R$136
123.81%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$539
$27.63 R$148
4.63%
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$95.8
$7.18 R$38.39
-28.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,851
$275 R$1,469
-24.81%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.2K
$7,123 R$38.1K
-44.86%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$808
$54.4 R$291
-20.28%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$772
$50.3 R$269
-17.60%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,383
$90.1 R$482
-17.68%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,664
$68.8 R$368
29.65%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.3K
$353 R$1,886
177.72%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,099
$240 R$1,282
58.77%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$31.8K
$660 R$3,527
158.93%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.0K
$463 R$2,475
132.22%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$73.5K
$1,702 R$9,103
131.60%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$114.8K
$1,165 R$6,229
428.58%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.7K
$312 R$1,667
135.59%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
11
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 Ferraz de Vasconcelos: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$240 37% $141
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$193 24.4% $62
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$118 41.6% $84
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$109 20.6% $28
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$119 6.2% $6.9
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$40 40.8% $27
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$54 6.9% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $353 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos. 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 $32 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $193 per month, with Ferraz de Vasconcelos cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇧🇷 Ferraz de Vasconcelos
🕒 Local time
13:01 1:01 PM
15:01 3:01 PM
2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
179,198
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Ferraz de Vasconcelos 6,600 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Ferraz de Vasconcelos

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 Ferraz de Vasconcelos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Playa del Carmen or Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
Ferraz de Vasconcelos wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ferraz de Vasconcelos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Playa del Carmen or in Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
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.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Playa del Carmen compared to Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $353 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How expensive is transport in Playa del Carmen compared to Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 40% less than in Ferraz de Vasconcelos. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.
How do childcare costs compare in Playa del Carmen and in Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $275 in Ferraz de Vasconcelos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Can you live on $800/month in Playa del Carmen or in Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ferraz de Vasconcelos is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
Which city offers a better quality of life: Playa del Carmen or Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
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.
Should I move to Playa del Carmen or to Ferraz de Vasconcelos?
It comes down to priorities – Ferraz de Vasconcelos wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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