Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Porto Seguro

For one person, living is cheaper in Porto Seguro: $737 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Porto Seguro
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Porto Seguro Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Porto Seguro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$737

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Porto Seguro

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $737 in Porto Seguro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Porto Seguro $737

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,242 in Porto Seguro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Porto Seguro $1,242

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,746 in Porto Seguro, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Porto Seguro $1,746

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Porto Seguro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Porto Seguro are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Porto Seguro 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$5.52 R$29.52

97.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$18.53 R$99.1

134.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.64 R$35.48

77.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.10 R$11.23

81.43%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.10 R$5.87

16.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.58 R$3.11

34.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.66 R$8.87

90.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.97 R$15.87

65.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.29 R$6.88

9.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.39 R$7.41

59.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.37 R$7.32

3.65%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$4.14 R$22.13

-39.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.86 R$47.37

-18.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.11 R$21.96

87.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.80 R$41.71

62.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.04 R$10.89

36.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.32 R$7.05

3.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.09 R$5.82

133.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.45 R$7.75

46.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.39 R$7.42

39.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.13 R$6.06

67.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.68 R$3.65

69.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.32 R$7.05

-10.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.01 R$10.75

113.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.60 R$29.96

77.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.59 R$8.52

-0.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.72 R$14.55

-1.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.15 R$6.14

-52.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$42.39 R$227

-37.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.24 R$6.63

300.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.74 R$3.97

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.90 R$36.91

-22.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.29 R$6.91

11.63%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$22.2K R$118.7K

-6.91%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$30.9K R$165.4K

-24.14%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$48.56 R$260

74.61%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$8.79 R$46.97

166.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$16.06 R$85.9

78.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$22.30 R$119

155.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$28.78 R$154

0.45%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.63 R$35.45

-22.47%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$235 R$1,258

-12.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,727 R$36.0K

-41.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$51.4 R$275

-15.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$46.88 R$251

-11.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$82.0 R$439

-9.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$66.0 R$353

35.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$254 R$1,358

285.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$157 R$837

143.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$538 R$2,876

217.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$441 R$2,357

143.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,556 R$8,322

153.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,137 R$6,079

441.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$301 R$1,610

143.89%

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: October 25, 2026

Last update for Porto Seguro: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Porto Seguro

$157 21.2% 58.9% $224

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Porto Seguro

$199 26.9% 22.1% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Porto Seguro

$110 15% 45.5% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Porto Seguro

$73 10% 46.4% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Porto Seguro

$111 15% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Porto Seguro

$36 4.8% 47.2% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Porto Seguro

$52 7.1% 2.9% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $254 in Porto Seguro. 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 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Porto Seguro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $199 – making Porto Seguro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Porto Seguro

🕒 Local time

10:09 10:09 AM

12:09 12:09 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

168,326

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Porto Seguro 6,670 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Porto Seguro

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 Porto Seguro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 63%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,106 in Porto Seguro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Porto Seguro, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $254 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $737 in Porto Seguro. That’s a gap of about 63%.

Public transport costs about 37% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Porto Seguro, where all-in costs run around $737, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Porto Seguro 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 $737 in Porto Seguro to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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