Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Paulo Afonso

For one person, living is cheaper in Paulo Afonso: $823 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 Paulo Afonso
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Paulo Afonso Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Paulo Afonso

🇧🇷 Brazil

$823

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Paulo Afonso

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $823 in Paulo Afonso, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Paulo Afonso $823

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,313 in Paulo Afonso, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Paulo Afonso $1,313

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,804 in Paulo Afonso, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Paulo Afonso $1,804

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$5.61 R$30.62

90.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$30.09 R$164

45.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.32 R$39.98

61.07%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.84 R$10.03

105.98%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.19 R$6.48

9.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.71 R$3.85

16.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.89 R$10.34

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.77 R$15.11

77.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.94 R$5.11

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.59 R$8.70

38.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.16 R$6.35

26.72%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.06 R$11.27

21.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.75 R$47.79

-16.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.95 R$21.60

101.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.76 R$42.39

65.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.05 R$11.21

41.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.19 R$6.50

15.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.13 R$6.17

120.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.46 R$7.98

39.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.12 R$6.11

80.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.00 R$5.44

90.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.73 R$3.96

56.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.78 R$4.24

58.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.27 R$12.41

88.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$7.31 R$39.89

34.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.17 R$6.40

35.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.99 R$10.84

38.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.98 R$5.33

-47.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$41.38 R$226

-33.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.24 R$6.76

283.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.78 R$4.28

316.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.58 R$41.37

-28.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.16 R$6.35

31.90%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$22.2K R$121.2K

-4.46%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$31.7K R$172.9K

-26.52%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$72.3 R$395

15.45%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$11.46 R$62.6

102.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$19.41 R$106

42.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$24.60 R$134

129.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$25.69 R$140

9.73%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.59 R$36.01

-24.13%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$263 R$1,435

-21.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$6,731 R$36.8K

-22.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$51.1 R$279

-14.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$45.74 R$250

-7.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$84.7 R$463

-14.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$66.1 R$361

33.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$338 R$1,844

194.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$230 R$1,255

66.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$629 R$3,435

166.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$457 R$2,497

136.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,562 R$8,528

150.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,155 R$6,308

431.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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 Paulo Afonso: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Paulo Afonso

$230 27.9% 39.9% $152

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Paulo Afonso

$179 21.7% 30.6% $79

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Paulo Afonso

$111 13.5% 44.4% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Paulo Afonso

$103 12.5% 23.2% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Paulo Afonso

$111 13.5% 0.2% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Paulo Afonso

$38 4.6% 43.1% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Paulo Afonso

$50 6.1% 0% $0

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $338 in Paulo Afonso. 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 $30 in Paulo Afonso. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $179 – making Paulo Afonso the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Paulo Afonso

🕒 Local time

21:42 9:42 PM

23:42 11:42 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

112,870

💱 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 4, 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 4, 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 Paulo Afonso 6,300 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Paulo Afonso

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 Paulo Afonso: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 46% more than Paulo Afonso, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,234 in Paulo Afonso. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Paulo Afonso, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $338 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $823 in Paulo Afonso. That makes Paulo Afonso about 32% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 34% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $823 in Paulo Afonso. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $823 in Paulo Afonso to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.