Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and São Gabriel

For one person, living is cheaper in São Gabriel: $794 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in São Gabriel
Learn more

São Gabriel Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

São Gabriel

🇧🇷 Brazil

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in São Gabriel

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $794 in São Gabriel, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
São Gabriel $794

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,286 in São Gabriel, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
São Gabriel $1,286

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,778 in São Gabriel, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
São Gabriel $1,778

Playa del Carmen costs about 52% more than São Gabriel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and São Gabriel are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, São Gabriel 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$5.31 R$29.00

100.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$37.51 R$205

16.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.49 R$35.44

81.66%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.14 R$6.21

232.46%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.25 R$6.85

4.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.95 R$5.17

-12.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.34 R$7.30

135.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.74 R$14.94

79.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.87 R$4.74

62.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.52 R$8.29

44.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.00 R$5.49

47.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.37 R$7.47

82.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$9.72 R$53.1

-25.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.53 R$24.76

75.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$9.46 R$51.7

35.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.10 R$5.98

163.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.36 R$7.40

1.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.91 R$4.94

173.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.75 R$4.11

170.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.09 R$5.96

85.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.71 R$3.89

167.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.81 R$4.40

40.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.80 R$4.38

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$1.62 R$8.85

163.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$3.73 R$20.38

163.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.09 R$5.93

45.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.52 R$8.33

80.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.98 R$5.37

-47.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$42.35 R$231

-35.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.23 R$6.69

286.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.79 R$4.31

311.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.61 R$41.57

-29.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.18 R$6.46

29.66%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$21.9K R$119.4K

-2.96%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$32.6K R$178.2K

-28.69%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$71.1 R$388

17.43%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$11.48 R$62.7

102.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.40 R$111

35.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$24.33 R$133

131.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$26.06 R$142

8.17%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.76 R$36.91

-26.04%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$258 R$1,409

-19.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$6,831 R$37.3K

-23.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$47.23 R$258

-8.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$24.12 R$132

76.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$96.9 R$529

-24.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$74.8 R$409

18.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$330 R$1,802

201.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$227 R$1,241

68.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$631 R$3,446

165.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$446 R$2,433

142.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,588 R$8,673

146.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,130 R$6,171

443.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for São Gabriel: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

São Gabriel

$227 28.6% 40.6% $155

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

São Gabriel

$168 21.2% 34.7% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

São Gabriel

$97 12.2% 51.8% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

São Gabriel

$103 13% 23.3% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

São Gabriel

$109 13.8% 1.7% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

São Gabriel

$38 4.8% 43% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

São Gabriel

$51 6.5% 2% $1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $330 in São Gabriel. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in São Gabriel. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $168 – making São Gabriel the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 São Gabriel

🕒 Local time

09:55 9:55 AM

11:55 11:55 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

58,487

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.11 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen São Gabriel 6,660 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
São Gabriel

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 São Gabriel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 52%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,190 in São Gabriel. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in São Gabriel, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $330 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $794 in São Gabriel. That makes São Gabriel about 34% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 35% 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 São Gabriel, where all-in costs run around $794, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In São Gabriel 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 $794 in São Gabriel to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.