Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Pato Branco

For one person, living is cheaper in Pato Branco: $822 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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 Pato Branco
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Pato Branco Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Pato Branco

🇧🇷 Brazil

$822

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Pato Branco

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $822 in Pato Branco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Pato Branco $822

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,307 in Pato Branco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Pato Branco $1,307

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,792 in Pato Branco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Pato Branco $1,792

Playa del Carmen costs about 46% more than Pato Branco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$5.50 R$30.04

94.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$29.91 R$163

46.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.14 R$39.01

65.13%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.85 R$10.10

104.86%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.24 R$6.76

4.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.76 R$4.13

9.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.91 R$10.43

64.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.82 R$15.41

74.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.93 R$5.09

51.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.54 R$8.41

42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.21 R$6.60

21.49%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.07 R$11.32

20.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.53 R$46.60

-14.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.13 R$22.55

92.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.84 R$42.83

64.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.08 R$11.34

39.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.24 R$6.75

11.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.08 R$5.90

130.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.47 R$8.01

38.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.12 R$6.12

80.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.05 R$5.73

80.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.71 R$3.86

60.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.72 R$3.93

72.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.37 R$12.94

80.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.61 R$41.57

28.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.24 R$6.74

28.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.95 R$10.65

41.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.97 R$5.32

-47.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$41.17 R$225

-33.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.23 R$6.69

286.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.79 R$4.32

311.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.65 R$41.75

-29.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.17 R$6.40

30.77%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.9K R$119.5K

-3.06%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$31.6K R$172.7K

-26.43%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$72.4 R$395

15.35%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$11.69 R$63.8

98.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$19.32 R$106

42.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$23.94 R$131

135.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$25.35 R$138

11.20%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.75 R$36.88

-25.93%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$257 R$1,403

-19.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$6,762 R$36.9K

-22.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$51.4 R$281

-15.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$45.68 R$249

-6.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$81.9 R$447

-11.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$65.9 R$360

34.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$337 R$1,839

195.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$230 R$1,258

65.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$637 R$3,478

162.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$450 R$2,457

140.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,602 R$8,747

144.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,151 R$6,286

433.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$411 R$2,246

102.32%

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 Pato Branco: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Pato Branco

$230 28% 39.7% $152

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Pato Branco

$179 21.8% 30.3% $78

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Pato Branco

$111 13.5% 44.7% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Pato Branco

$103 12.6% 23% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Pato Branco

$110 13.4% 0.9% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Pato Branco

$37 4.6% 43.6% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Pato Branco

$50 6.1% 0.4% $0.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $337 in Pato Branco. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $30 in Pato Branco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $179 – making Pato Branco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Pato Branco

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

19:56 7:56 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

91,836

💱 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

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Pato Branco 6,400 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Pato Branco

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 Pato Branco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,233 in Pato Branco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pato Branco, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $337 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 33% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $257 in Pato Branco. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Pato Branco, where all-in costs run around $822, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Pato Branco 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 $822 in Pato Branco to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Pato Branco. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.