Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Guarulhos

For one person, living is cheaper in Guarulhos: $964 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Guarulhos
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Guarulhos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Guarulhos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $964 in Guarulhos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Guarulhos $964

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,764 in Guarulhos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Guarulhos $1,764

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,565 in Guarulhos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Guarulhos $2,565

Playa del Carmen costs about 25% more than Guarulhos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Playa del Carmen and Guarulhos are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Guarulhos 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$8.69 R$44.06

24.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$40.01 R$203

10.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$9.00 R$45.61

30.67%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.46 R$12.50

49.59%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.35 R$6.82

-0.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.86 R$4.37

-4.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.44 R$12.39

25.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.88 R$19.65

27.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.05 R$5.32

40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.88 R$9.52

18.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.33 R$6.76

11.28%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.46 R$12.47

1.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$12.61 R$63.9

-40.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.79 R$24.27

66.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$10.70 R$54.3

17.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.38 R$12.07

16.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.72 R$8.71

-16.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.53 R$7.74

71.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.53 R$7.76

39.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.26 R$6.40

60.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.18 R$6.00

68.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.98 R$4.97

16.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.85 R$4.32

41.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.49 R$12.65

71.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$9.88 R$50.1

1.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.50 R$7.62

2.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.49 R$12.64

6.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.24 R$6.30

-57.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$105 R$532

-73.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.17 R$5.94

318.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.72 R$3.64

376.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.49 R$43.03

-36.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.28 R$6.50

13.28%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$23.6K R$119.5K

-10.28%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$34.2K R$173.5K

-32.73%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$91.6 R$465

-6.85%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$14.98 R$75.9

56.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$22.33 R$113

27.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$28.22 R$143

120.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$10.05 R$50.9

-49.25%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$429 R$2,173

-53.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$11.0K R$56.0K

-64.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$65.1 R$330

-31.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$57.1 R$289

-27.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$92.2 R$467

-21.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$79.5 R$403

12.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$349 R$1,770

180.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$158 R$801

135.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$995 R$5,042

68.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$768 R$3,895

42.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,944 R$9,855

103.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,480 R$7,502

314.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$378 R$1,914

95.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.25

1.78%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Guarulhos: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Guarulhos

$158 16.4% 57.6% $215

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Guarulhos

$227 23.5% 12.2% $32

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Guarulhos

$155 16.1% 22.6% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Guarulhos

$129 13.4% 6% $8.3

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Guarulhos

$132 13.7% 18.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Guarulhos

$48 5% 33.3% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Guarulhos

$115 11.9% 122% $63

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $349 in Guarulhos. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 95% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $40.00 in Guarulhos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $227 – making Guarulhos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Guarulhos

🕒 Local time

08:23 8:23 AM

10:23 10:23 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,291,771

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Guarulhos 6,580 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Guarulhos

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 Guarulhos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 25% more than Guarulhos, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,446 in Guarulhos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Guarulhos, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $40.00 in Guarulhos. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $964 in Guarulhos. That's a gap of about 25%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Guarulhos, where all-in costs run around $964, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Guarulhos it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Guarulhos costs $964 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Guarulhos. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.