Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Passos

For one person, living is cheaper in Passos: $956 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Passos
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Passos Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Passos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $956 in Passos.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Passos $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,537 in Passos.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Passos $1,537

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,119 in Passos.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Passos $2,119

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 26% more expensive than in Passos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Passos 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$10.06 R$51.0

7.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$35.57 R$180

24.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.86 R$44.91

32.73%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.28 R$11.54

61.40%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.34 R$6.80

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.95 R$4.80

-13.68%

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

$4.05 R$20.51

21.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.06 R$5.40

38.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.05 R$10.40

8.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.37 R$6.95

8.03%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.61 R$13.22

-4.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.74 R$54.4

-29.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.97 R$25.18

60.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$10.75 R$54.5

16.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.34 R$11.87

18.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.66 R$8.42

-13.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.53 R$7.76

71.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.37 R$6.94

56.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.30 R$6.60

55.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.24 R$6.29

60.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.99 R$5.01

15.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.85 R$4.31

41.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.43 R$12.34

75.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$8.08 R$40.96

24.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.56 R$7.89

-1.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.51 R$12.74

5.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.00 R$5.05

-47.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$43.39 R$220

-36.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.17 R$5.93

318.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.72 R$3.66

376.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.38 R$42.46

-35.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.28 R$6.48

13.28%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$24.0K R$121.6K

-11.80%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$32.0K R$162.0K

-27.99%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$67.4 R$342

26.59%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$15.00 R$76.1

56.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$22.66 R$115

25.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$25.76 R$131

141.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$27.49 R$139

4.33%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$8.17 R$41.40

-37.58%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$443 R$2,246

-54.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$10.8K R$54.8K

-63.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$64.4 R$326

-31.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$57.0 R$289

-27.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$88.5 R$449

-17.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$79.4 R$402

12.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$354 R$1,797

176.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$242 R$1,225

54.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$687 R$3,485

144.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$475 R$2,410

130.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,693 R$8,582

133.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,181 R$5,984

419.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$419 R$2,122

76.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.81

5.92%

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 Passos: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Passos

$242 25.3% 35.2% $131

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Passos

$221 23.1% 14.7% $38

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Passos

$164 17.2% 18.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Passos

$105 11% 23.4% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Passos

$130 13.6% 16.6% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Passos

$42 4.4% 41.9% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Passos

$52 5.5% 0.9% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $354 in Passos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 76% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $36.00 in Passos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $221 per month, with Passos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Passos

🕒 Local time

23:35 11:35 PM

01:35 1:35 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

111,939

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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 Passos 6,360 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Passos

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 Passos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Passos differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $956 including rent). Passos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 76% 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $354 in Passos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Passos – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $956 in Passos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Passos but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Passos 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.

Expats usually find Passos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.