Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Santos

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Santos: $1,204 and $1,150 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Santos
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Santos Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Santos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,150

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,150 in Santos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Santos $1,150

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,736 in Santos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Santos $1,736

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,322 in Santos, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Santos $2,322

Playa del Carmen costs about 5% more than Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Santos are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Santos 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$8.12 R$41.18

33.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$31.84 R$161

38.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.14 R$36.19

64.71%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.75 R$13.96

33.82%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.43 R$7.24

-6.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.92 R$4.68

-10.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.52 R$12.76

21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.92 R$14.79

69.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.09 R$5.50

34.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.85 R$9.39

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.36 R$6.91

8.82%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.49 R$12.61

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$12.14 R$61.6

-38.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.86 R$24.63

63.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$9.91 R$50.2

26.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.11 R$10.69

31.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.23 R$6.23

16.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.99 R$10.07

31.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.85 R$9.37

15.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.35 R$6.86

49.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.29 R$6.56

54.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.16 R$5.87

-1.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.95 R$4.80

26.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$2.35 R$11.89

81.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.98 R$40.46

25.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.33 R$6.76

15.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.94 R$9.83

37.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.12 R$5.66

-52.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$49.37 R$250

-44.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.56 R$7.89

214.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.61 R$8.16

113.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$17.80 R$90.2

-69.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.24 R$6.31

16.94%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$23.7K R$120.3K

-10.82%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$33.5K R$169.6K

-31.21%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$104 R$529

-18.15%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$11.95 R$60.6

96.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$21.90 R$111

29.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$28.96 R$147

114.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$57.0 R$289

-49.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$8.59 R$43.55

-40.63%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$280 R$1,418

-28.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$10.2K R$52.0K

-61.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$55.5 R$281

-19.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$36.69 R$186

12.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$95.7 R$485

-24.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$60.7 R$307

47.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$543 R$2,754

80.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$424 R$2,148

-12.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$992 R$5,031

69.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$686 R$3,478

59.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,413 R$12.2K

63.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,776 R$9,004

245.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$584 R$2,958

26.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

12.79

-10.48%

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 Santos: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Santos

$424 36.9% 13.7% $51

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Santos

$219 19.1% 15.1% $39

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Santos

$147 12.8% 26.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Santos

$138 12% 0.7% $0.9

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Santos

$112 9.7% 0.2% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Santos

$46 4% 36.3% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Santos

$63 5.5% 22.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $543 in Santos. 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 26% 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $32.00 in Santos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $219 – making Santos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Santos

🕒 Local time

06:38 6:38 AM

08:38 8:38 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

418,608

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 Santos 6,630 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Santos

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 Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, 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 $1,725 in Santos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santos, 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 $1,150 in Santos. That's a gap of about 5%.

Public transport costs about 79% less in Santos. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Santos, where all-in costs run around $1,150, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Santos it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Santos – 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 Santos. 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.