Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lages

For one person, living is cheaper in Lages: $906 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Lages
Learn more

Lages Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lages

🇧🇷 Brazil

$906

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $906 in Lages, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lages $906

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,397 in Lages, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lages $1,397

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,887 in Lages, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Lages $1,887

Playa del Carmen costs about 33% more than Lages, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Lages are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Lages 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$7.56 R$41.08

44.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$36.70 R$200

18.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$6.56 R$35.69

79.57%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$2.35 R$12.75

62.13%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.26 R$6.87

1.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$0.98 R$5.32

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$2.29 R$12.43

38.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$2.75 R$14.96

79.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$0.98 R$5.33

43.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$1.61 R$8.76

37.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$0.99 R$5.40

43.43%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.28 R$12.40

10.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.38 R$51.0

-22.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.46 R$24.26

72.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$9.05 R$49.21

40.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$2.29 R$12.43

21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.41 R$7.65

-2.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.26 R$6.86

102.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$1.49 R$8.08

42.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.18 R$6.42

64.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$1.00 R$5.44

89.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$0.86 R$4.68

33.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.77 R$4.20

53.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$2.25 R$12.24

91.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.22 R$39.25

37.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.10 R$5.97

43.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$2.10 R$11.40

27.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.98 R$5.34

-43.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$47.99 R$261

-44.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$1.24 R$6.72

300.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$0.80 R$4.32

316.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$7.80 R$42.42

-31.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.19 R$6.48

21.01%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$22.0K R$119.7K

-6.11%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$32.5K R$176.9K

-27.90%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$71.7 R$390

18.19%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$11.61 R$63.1

101.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$20.72 R$113

38.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$22.23 R$121

156.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$22.12 R$120

30.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$6.93 R$37.68

-25.83%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$262 R$1,423

-21.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$6,799 R$37.0K

-42.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$46.44 R$252

-6.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$54.7 R$297

-24.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$93.9 R$510

-20.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$73.7 R$400

21.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$292 R$1,586

235.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$262 R$1,426

45.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$647 R$3,520

163.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$397 R$2,160

170.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$1,377 R$7,488

186.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$984 R$5,350

525.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.5

-0.43%

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 Lages: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Lages

$262 29% 31.1% $119

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Lages

$191 21.1% 24.9% $63

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Lages

$134 14.8% 33.7% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lages

$104 11.5% 24% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lages

$121 13.3% 8.2% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Lages

$36 4% 46.4% $31

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lages

$57 6.3% 13.2% $6.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $292 in Lages. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $37 in Lages. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $191 – making Lages the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Lages

🕒 Local time

05:38 5:38 AM

07:38 7:38 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

164,981

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 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 = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lages 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lages

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 Lages: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $906 in Lages – Lages comes out roughly 25% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,359 in Lages. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lages, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $292 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $262 in Lages. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Lages, where all-in costs run around $906, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Lages it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $906 in Lages to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.