Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Petropolis

For one person, living is cheaper in Petropolis: $945 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Petropolis
Learn more

Petropolis Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Petropolis

🇧🇷 Brazil

$945

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $945 in Petropolis.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Petropolis $945

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,417 in Petropolis.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Petropolis $1,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,888 in Petropolis.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Petropolis $1,888

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 27% more expensive than in Petropolis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Petropolis 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.72 R$31.10

90.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$26.56 R$144

63.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.47 R$35.19

82.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$1.64 R$8.94

132.32%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.29 R$7.02

-0.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.57 R$3.11

36.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$1.09 R$5.95

190.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$4.20 R$22.84

17.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$0.89 R$4.84

58.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.47 R$7.97

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.33 R$7.24

6.77%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.89 R$10.30

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.55 R$46.51

-15.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.85 R$20.93

100.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$9.16 R$49.80

38.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.61 R$8.75

72.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.06 R$5.79

29.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$0.84 R$4.59

203.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.18 R$6.39

79.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.64 R$3.50

203.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.74 R$4.04

155.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.49 R$2.69

134.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.57 R$3.08

107.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$2.00 R$10.86

115.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$5.48 R$29.81

81.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$0.98 R$5.34

61.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.27 R$6.90

110.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$1.03 R$5.60

-46.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$46.23 R$251

-42.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$1.06 R$5.78

368.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.89 R$4.83

274.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$7.37 R$40.05

-27.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.15 R$6.28

25.22%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$19.7K R$106.9K

5.06%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$29.5K R$160.6K

-20.57%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$67.4 R$367

25.76%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$9.36 R$50.9

150.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$17.93 R$97.5

59.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$30.74 R$167

85.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$29.15 R$158

-0.82%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$6.34 R$34.47

-18.93%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$344 R$1,872

-40.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$9,986 R$54.3K

-60.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$52.8 R$287

-17.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$47.16 R$256

-12.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$83.9 R$456

-11.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$64.4 R$350

38.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$487 R$2,647

101.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$370 R$2,014

2.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$809 R$4,398

111.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$582 R$3,165

84.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$2,562 R$13.9K

53.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,907 R$10.4K

222.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$574 R$3,120

28.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.87

-3.54%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Petropolis: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Petropolis

$370 39.2% 2.7% $10

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Petropolis

$163 17.3% 36% $92

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Petropolis

$106 11.2% 47.5% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Petropolis

$95 10% 30.8% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Petropolis

$112 11.8% 0% $0

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Petropolis

$43 4.6% 35.5% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Petropolis

$56 5.9% 10.7% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $487 in Petropolis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 28% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $27 in Petropolis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $163 per month, with Petropolis cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Petropolis

🕒 Local time

12:05 12:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

278,881

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.165 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Petropolis 6,760 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Petropolis

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 Petropolis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Petropolis is about 21% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 28% 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $487 in Petropolis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Petropolis – a meal for two runs $27 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Petropolis wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.