Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Rio Grande

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio Grande: $843 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Rio Grande
Learn more

Rio Grande Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Rio Grande

🇧🇷 Brazil

$843

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Rio Grande

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $843 in Rio Grande, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Rio Grande $843

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,329 in Rio Grande, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Rio Grande $1,329

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,815 in Rio Grande, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Rio Grande $1,815

Playa del Carmen costs about 43% more than Rio Grande, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Rio Grande are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Rio Grande 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$7.99 R$40.49

35.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$26.45 R$134

67.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.20 R$36.49

63.33%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.44 R$7.29

155.56%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.19 R$6.01

12.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.81 R$4.13

1.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.44 R$12.36

25.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.03 R$15.36

63.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.01 R$5.12

45.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.66 R$8.41

33.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.13 R$5.74

30.97%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.96 R$9.95

27.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$4.06 R$20.60

85.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.90 R$24.84

62.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$9.90 R$50.2

26.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.40 R$12.17

15.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.49 R$7.56

-4.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.37 R$6.92

91.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$0.58 R$2.94

268.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.22 R$6.16

65.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.72 R$3.64

176.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.38 R$1.94

200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.57 R$2.91

110.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.52 R$12.76

69.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.91 R$40.10

26.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.13 R$5.72

36.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.22 R$11.25

19.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.99 R$5.04

-46.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$43.51 R$221

-36.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.27 R$6.41

285.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.79 R$4.00

334.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$8.17 R$41.43

-34.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.19 R$6.01

21.85%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$24.0K R$121.7K

-11.84%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$34.1K R$172.8K

-32.46%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$77.2 R$391

10.58%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$9.23 R$46.81

154.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$21.91 R$111

29.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$25.97 R$132

139.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$27.54 R$140

4.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$2.93 R$14.86

74.06%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$278 R$1,407

-27.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$7,170 R$36.3K

-44.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$31.55 R$160

40.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$39.52 R$200

4.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$78.9 R$400

-7.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$78.8 R$400

13.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$353 R$1,791

177.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$244 R$1,239

52.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$672 R$3,407

150.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$476 R$2,413

130.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,676 R$8,498

135.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,177 R$5,968

421.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.5

-0.43%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Rio Grande: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Rio Grande

$244 29% 34.4% $128

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Rio Grande

$174 20.7% 32.6% $84

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Rio Grande

$129 15.3% 35.6% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Rio Grande

$108 12.9% 21.1% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Rio Grande

$103 12.2% 7.8% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Rio Grande

$32 3.8% 56% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Rio Grande

$53 6.3% 1.9% $1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $353 in Rio Grande. 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $26.00 in Rio Grande. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $174 – making Rio Grande the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Rio Grande

🕒 Local time

13:58 1:58 PM

15:58 3:58 PM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

198,935

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Rio Grande 6,940 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Rio Grande

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 Rio Grande: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 43%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,265 in Rio Grande. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rio Grande, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $843 in Rio Grande. That's a gap of about 43%.

Public transport costs about 58% less in Rio Grande. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Rio Grande, where all-in costs run around $843, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Rio Grande it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Rio Grande – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Rio Grande. 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.