Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Guararema

For one person, living is cheaper in Guararema: $754 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Guararema
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Guararema Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Guararema

🇧🇷 Brazil

$754

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $754 in Guararema.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Guararema $754

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,230 in Guararema.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Guararema $1,230

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,707 in Guararema.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Guararema $1,707

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 60% more expensive than in Guararema, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Guararema 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$5.47 R$30.10

95.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$33.52 R$185

30.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$8.13 R$44.77

45.02%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$1.17 R$6.46

223.93%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$1.22 R$6.72

6.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.88 R$4.85

-5.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

$1.82 R$9.99

73.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

$3.09 R$17.01

59.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$0.96 R$5.27

46.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$1.39 R$7.67

58.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.26 R$6.96

16.67%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$2.47 R$13.61

1.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$9.72 R$53.5

-25.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$4.69 R$25.79

69.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$9.94 R$54.7

29.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$2.18 R$12.01

33.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$1.56 R$8.61

-11.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.41 R$7.79

76.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.28 R$7.03

58.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.17 R$6.42

72.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.15 R$6.31

65.22%

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

$0.80 R$4.42

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$2.34 R$12.88

82.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$7.60 R$41.82

29.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$1.37 R$7.56

16.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$2.39 R$13.16

15.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$1.12 R$6.18

-54.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$18.98 R$104

44.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$1.00 R$5.49

376.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$0.70 R$3.84

364.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$8.77 R$48.29

-38.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$1.21 R$6.66

26.45%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$14.8K R$81.4K

43.47%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$22.0K R$121.2K

5.60%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$37.30 R$205

123.83%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$7.34 R$40.37

215.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$14.42 R$79.4

91.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$24.19 R$133

133.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$19.19 R$106

46.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$3.65 R$20.08

36.99%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$399 R$2,196

-48.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$10.1K R$55.7K

-48.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$46.02 R$253

-5.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$27.98 R$154

52.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$83.2 R$458

-12.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$54.6 R$301

61.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$341 R$1,876

191.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$235 R$1,293

62.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$635 R$3,496

163.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$453 R$2,494

138.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$1,588 R$8,741

146.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,157 R$6,369

430.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$272 R$1,498

205.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

27.22%

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 Guararema: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Guararema

$235 31.2% 38.6% $148

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Guararema

$199 26.4% 22.7% $58

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Guararema

$106 14.1% 47.1% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Guararema

$59 7.8% 56% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Guararema

$95 12.7% 14.3% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Guararema

$31 4.2% 52.6% $35

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Guararema

$28 3.7% 44.6% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $341 in Guararema. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $34 in Guararema for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $199 per month, with Guararema cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Guararema

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

12:44 12:44 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

31,236

💱 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 Guararema 6,610 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Guararema

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 Guararema: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guararema is about 37% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 3.1 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $341 in Guararema. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $754 in Guararema – Guararema is about 37% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Guararema runs roughly 31% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $754 in Guararema versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Guararema but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Guararema 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 Guararema gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.