Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Petrolina

For one person, living is cheaper in Petrolina: $736 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Petrolina
Learn more

Petrolina Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Petrolina

🇧🇷 Brazil

$736

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $736 in Petrolina, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Petrolina $736

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,155 in Petrolina, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Petrolina $1,155

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,574 in Petrolina, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Petrolina $1,574

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Petrolina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Petrolina are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Petrolina 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$5.42 R$29.83

96.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$29.35 R$162

49.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$7.30 R$40.19

61.51%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$1.86 R$10.23

103.76%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$1.23 R$6.77

5.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.70 R$3.86

18.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

$1.81 R$9.97

74.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

$2.85 R$15.70

72.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.04 R$5.73

35.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$0.85 R$4.68

158.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.11 R$6.08

32.43%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$1.54 R$8.50

62.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.60 R$47.32

-15.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$3.48 R$19.16

128.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$7.45 R$41.02

72.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$2.26 R$12.43

28.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$0.84 R$4.63

64.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.07 R$5.91

132.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.44 R$7.95

40.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.12 R$6.18

80.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$0.73 R$4.01

160.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$0.72 R$3.95

58.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$0.45 R$2.46

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$2.34 R$12.85

82.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$6.48 R$35.67

51.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$1.23 R$6.80

29.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$1.95 R$10.72

41.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$1.00 R$5.50

-49.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$42.15 R$232

-35.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$1.23 R$6.78

286.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$0.86 R$4.73

277.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$7.43 R$40.88

-27.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$1.23 R$6.79

24.39%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$19.5K R$107.4K

8.74%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$24.6K R$135.3K

-5.37%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$62.7 R$345

33.26%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$8.18 R$45.00

183.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$11.37 R$62.6

142.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$17.51 R$96.4

222.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$25.72 R$142

9.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$3.76 R$20.69

32.98%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$226 R$1,245

-8.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$6,623 R$36.5K

-21.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$18.43 R$101

135.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$46.58 R$256

-8.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$50.9 R$280

42.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$78.2 R$431

12.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$256 R$1,409

288.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$221 R$1,216

73.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$556 R$3,058

201.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$379 R$2,087

184.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$1,587 R$8,737

146.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,139 R$6,268

438.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$558 R$3,070

49.21%

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 Petrolina: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Petrolina

$221 30% 42.2% $161

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Petrolina

$159 21.6% 38.2% $98

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Petrolina

$110 15% 45% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Petrolina

$82 11.2% 38.8% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Petrolina

$87 11.9% 21.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Petrolina

$25 3.4% 62.3% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Petrolina

$52 7% 2.4% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $256 in Petrolina. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 49% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $29 in Petrolina. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $159 – making Petrolina the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Petrolina

🕒 Local time

11:50 11:50 AM

13:50 1:50 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

386,791

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Petrolina 6,090 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Petrolina

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 Petrolina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Petrolina, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $1,104 in Petrolina. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Petrolina, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $256 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $226 in Petrolina. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 62% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $736 in Petrolina to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Petrolina. 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.