Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Imbituba

For one person, living is cheaper in Imbituba: $795 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Imbituba
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Imbituba Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Imbituba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$795

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $795 in Imbituba.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Imbituba $795

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,262 in Imbituba.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Imbituba $1,262

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,729 in Imbituba.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Imbituba $1,729

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 51% more expensive than in Imbituba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Imbituba 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$4.73 R$25.94

125.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$28.27 R$155

54.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$6.38 R$35.00

84.80%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$1.79 R$9.80

111.73%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$1.06 R$5.80

22.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$0.49 R$2.67

69.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$2.20 R$12.10

43.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.26 R$12.38

118.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$0.93 R$5.12

51.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$1.15 R$6.32

91.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$0.87 R$4.75

68.97%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$2.05 R$11.24

21.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$7.55 R$41.43

-3.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$2.95 R$16.16

169.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$6.19 R$33.96

107.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$1.47 R$8.07

97.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$0.77 R$4.22

79.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$1.14 R$6.28

118.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$0.77 R$4.24

163.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$0.72 R$3.98

180.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$1.18 R$6.47

61.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$1.38 R$7.55

-17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$0.93 R$5.09

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$3.01 R$16.52

41.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$8.63 R$47.35

13.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$1.07 R$5.90

48.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$2.99 R$16.42

-8.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$0.92 R$5.07

-44.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$41.53 R$228

-34.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$1.89 R$10.39

151.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$1.51 R$8.29

115.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$9.12 R$50.1

-40.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$1.22 R$6.69

25.41%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$22.5K R$123.6K

-5.81%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$31.6K R$173.2K

-26.28%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$57.4 R$315

45.58%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$10.64 R$58.4

117.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$19.85 R$109

39.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$24.31 R$133

132.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$25.89 R$142

8.88%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$8.34 R$45.76

-40.05%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$301 R$1,649

-31.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$6,099 R$33.5K

-14.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$42.34 R$232

2.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$85.8 R$471

-50.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$84.1 R$461

-13.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$64.5 R$354

37.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$330 R$1,809

201.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$228 R$1,252

67.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$631 R$3,464

165.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$441 R$2,420

145.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$1,549 R$8,497

152.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$1,156 R$6,342

431.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.5

9.05%

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 Imbituba: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Imbituba

$228 28.7% 40.3% $154

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Imbituba

$159 20% 38.4% $99

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Imbituba

$100 12.6% 50% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Imbituba

$88 11.1% 34.6% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Imbituba

$125 15.7% 12% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Imbituba

$41 5.2% 38.3% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Imbituba

$55 6.9% 8.4% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $330 in Imbituba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $28 in Imbituba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $159 per month, with Imbituba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Imbituba

🕒 Local time

04:08 4:08 AM

06:08 6:08 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

52,579

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Imbituba 6,820 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Imbituba

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 Imbituba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Imbituba is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,192 in Imbituba 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 $330 in Imbituba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Imbituba – a meal for two runs $28 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $795 in Imbituba versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Imbituba but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Imbituba 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.