Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Palmas

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $830 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Palmas
Learn more

Palmas Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$830

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $830 in Palmas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Palmas $830

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,281 in Palmas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Palmas $1,281

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,733 in Palmas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Palmas $1,733

Playa del Carmen costs about 45% more than Palmas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Palmas are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Palmas 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$3.83 R$21.01

178.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$21.86 R$120

100.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$7.41 R$40.65

59.11%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.73 R$9.48

119.08%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$1.63 R$8.96

-20.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.81 R$4.45

2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$1.46 R$7.99

115.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$2.72 R$14.91

81.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.02 R$5.60

38.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.34 R$7.36

64.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$2.76 R$15.15

-46.74%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.41 R$13.24

3.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$6.62 R$36.36

10.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$2.95 R$16.20

169.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$5.75 R$31.58

123.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.18 R$11.97

33.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.56 R$8.57

-11.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.13 R$6.21

120.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.08 R$5.93

87.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.19 R$6.51

69.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.04 R$5.72

82.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.75 R$4.13

52.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.71 R$3.90

74.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$2.06 R$11.30

107.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$6.42 R$35.25

52.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.24 R$6.81

28.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.01 R$11.02

36.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.74 R$4.09

-31.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$41.72 R$229

-34.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.30 R$7.14

266.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.70 R$3.83

364.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$6.26 R$34.35

-13.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.11 R$6.08

37.84%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$19.7K R$108.0K

7.81%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$30.8K R$169.3K

-24.59%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$106 R$581

-21.11%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$10.92 R$59.9

112.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$18.50 R$102

49.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$21.99 R$121

156.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$26.12 R$143

7.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$6.13 R$33.62

-18.43%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$142 R$779

45.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$6,428 R$35.3K

-18.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$33.94 R$186

28.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$49.29 R$271

-13.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$106 R$582

-31.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$66.9 R$367

32.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$309 R$1,696

221.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$233 R$1,276

64.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$611 R$3,354

173.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$461 R$2,532

134.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,616 R$8,869

141.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,140 R$6,257

438.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

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 Palmas: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Palmas

$233 28% 39.2% $150

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Palmas

$167 20.1% 35.3% $91

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Palmas

$96 11.6% 52% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Palmas

$135 16.3% 0.7% $1

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Palmas

$115 13.9% 3.7% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Palmas

$34 4.1% 48.4% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Palmas

$49 6% 1.9% $1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $309 in Palmas. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $22 in Palmas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $167 – making Palmas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Palmas

🕒 Local time

01:35 1:35 AM

03:35 3:35 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

302,692

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Palmas 5,450 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Palmas

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 Palmas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $830 in Palmas – Palmas comes out roughly 31% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,244 in Palmas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Palmas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $309 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $22 in Palmas. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $830 in Palmas. That makes Palmas about 31% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Palmas, where all-in costs run around $830, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Palmas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Palmas – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.