Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Joao Pessoa

For one person, living is cheaper in Joao Pessoa: $969 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Joao Pessoa
Learn more

Joao Pessoa Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Joao Pessoa

🇧🇷 Brazil

$969

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Joao Pessoa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $969 in Joao Pessoa.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Joao Pessoa $969

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,496 in Joao Pessoa.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Joao Pessoa $1,496

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,023 in Joao Pessoa.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Joao Pessoa $2,023

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 24% more expensive than in Joao Pessoa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Joao Pessoa 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$6.54 R$35.71

63.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$27.48 R$150

59.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.37 R$40.26

59.97%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.42 R$7.78

166.90%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.97 R$5.30

34.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.66 R$3.63

25.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.70 R$9.30

85.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.39 R$18.52

45.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.13 R$6.17

24.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.90 R$10.37

15.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.42 R$7.74

3.52%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.89 R$10.31

32.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.74 R$42.24

-5.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.62 R$25.22

72.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.85 R$37.42

87.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.95 R$16.12

-1.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.94 R$5.14

46.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.83 R$4.55

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.07 R$5.87

89.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.51 R$8.22

33.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.17 R$6.39

62.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.70 R$3.83

62.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.99 R$5.42

25.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.81 R$15.36

51.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$8.38 R$45.79

17.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.49 R$8.16

6.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.03 R$16.56

-9.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.99 R$5.40

-48.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$63.2 R$345

-56.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.85 R$10.10

157.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.89 R$10.33

71.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$2.99 R$16.34

80.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.21 R$6.61

26.45%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$22.0K R$119.9K

-3.36%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$30.7K R$167.7K

-24.25%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$119 R$651

-29.94%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$20.81 R$114

11.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$21.65 R$118

27.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$35.08 R$192

60.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$27.65 R$151

1.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.70 R$53.0

-48.45%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$400 R$2,183

-48.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$6,320 R$34.5K

-17.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$50.6 R$276

-14.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$62.0 R$338

-31.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$80.9 R$442

-10.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$71.6 R$391

23.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$369 R$2,015

169.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$251 R$1,368

52.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$612 R$3,340

173.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$483 R$2,639

123.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,264 R$12.4K

72.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,122 R$6,128

446.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$476 R$2,601

74.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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 Joao Pessoa: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Joao Pessoa

$251 25.9% 34.5% $132

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Joao Pessoa

$191 19.7% 25.7% $66

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Joao Pessoa

$113 11.7% 43.4% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Joao Pessoa

$162 16.7% 20.4% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Joao Pessoa

$119 12.3% 7.2% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Joao Pessoa

$54 5.6% 18% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Joao Pessoa

$78 8.1% 55.6% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $369 in Joao Pessoa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 75% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $27 in Joao Pessoa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $191 per month, with Joao Pessoa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Joao Pessoa

🕒 Local time

15:52 3:52 PM

17:52 5:52 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

833,932

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.11 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Joao Pessoa 6,480 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Joao Pessoa

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 Joao Pessoa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $969 in Joao Pessoa, so Joao Pessoa is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 75% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $369 in Joao Pessoa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $400 in Joao Pessoa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $969 in Joao Pessoa versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Joao Pessoa but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Joao Pessoa 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.

It comes down to priorities – Joao Pessoa 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.