Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Porto Velho

For one person, living is cheaper in Porto Velho: $851 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Porto Velho
Learn more

Porto Velho Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Porto Velho

🇧🇷 Brazil

$851

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $851 in Porto Velho, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Porto Velho $851

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,347 in Porto Velho, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Porto Velho $1,347

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,844 in Porto Velho, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Porto Velho $1,844

Playa del Carmen costs about 42% more than Porto Velho, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Porto Velho are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Porto Velho 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$5.47 R$29.23

99.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$37.80 R$202

14.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.15 R$32.86

91.54%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.78 R$9.53

114.04%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.52 R$8.13

-15.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.49 R$2.60

59.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.85 R$9.87

71.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.06 R$11.03

139.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.99 R$5.29

42.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.41 R$7.51

57.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.08 R$5.78

31.48%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.97 R$10.53

27.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$8.70 R$46.51

-16.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.08 R$21.82

88.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$8.61 R$46.03

47.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.03 R$10.87

36.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.24 R$6.65

10.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.03 R$5.50

147.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.55 R$8.29

36.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.27 R$6.80

52.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.10 R$5.89

71.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.63 R$3.39

82.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.82 R$4.39

43.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.17 R$11.61

98.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.34 R$33.89

56.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.23 R$6.58

28.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.88 R$10.06

42.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.92 R$4.93

-40.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$41.03 R$219

-35.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.29 R$6.89

285.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.90 R$4.80

270.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.50 R$40.09

-28.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.22 R$6.52

18.03%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$20.8K R$111.4K

-0.80%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$33.7K R$180.1K

-30.33%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$79.3 R$424

6.90%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$12.36 R$66.1

89.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$19.71 R$105

45.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$24.42 R$131

133.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$25.57 R$137

13.06%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.69 R$35.77

-23.17%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$227 R$1,215

-9.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,657 R$40.9K

-48.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$46.37 R$248

-6.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$46.33 R$248

-10.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$84.1 R$450

-11.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$66.5 R$356

34.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$355 R$1,901

175.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$257 R$1,376

47.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$629 R$3,366

171.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$463 R$2,477

132.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,810 R$9,676

117.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,256 R$6,718

390.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$388 R$2,075

89.26%

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 Velho: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Porto Velho

$257 30.3% 32.4% $123

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Porto Velho

$179 21% 29.8% $76

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Porto Velho

$105 12.3% 48.1% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Porto Velho

$111 13.1% 18.6% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Porto Velho

$110 12.9% 2% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Porto Velho

$38 4.4% 43.9% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Porto Velho

$51 5.9% 0.1% $0

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $355 in Porto Velho. 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 89% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in Porto Velho. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $179 – making Porto Velho the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Porto Velho

🕒 Local time

15:39 3:39 PM

16:39 4:39 PM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

460,434

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Porto Velho 4,140 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Porto Velho

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 Velho: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 42%, 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 $1,276 in Porto Velho. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Porto Velho, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $355 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $851 in Porto Velho. That makes Porto Velho about 29% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 35% 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $851 in Porto Velho. 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 $851 in Porto Velho to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Porto Velho. 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.