Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Taubate

For one person, living is cheaper in Taubate: $852 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Taubate
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Taubate Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Taubate

🇧🇷 Brazil

$852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $852 in Taubate, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Taubate $852

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,351 in Taubate, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Taubate $1,351

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,849 in Taubate, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Taubate $1,849

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

Both Playa del Carmen and Taubate are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Taubate 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$7.07 R$35.85

52.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$37.35 R$189

15.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$8.31 R$42.14

41.88%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.18 R$11.04

77.52%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.30 R$6.60

5.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.77 R$3.91

9.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.34 R$11.87

32.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.04 R$15.42

66.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.06 R$5.35

35.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.14 R$10.86

4.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.28 R$6.49

14.84%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.40 R$12.16

5.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$10.81 R$54.8

-32.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$4.44 R$22.51

77.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$7.79 R$39.50

64.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.12 R$10.75

36.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.74 R$8.84

-17.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.43 R$7.23

78.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.85 R$9.39

11.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.27 R$6.42

57.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.03 R$5.25

95.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.75 R$3.80

58.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.71 R$3.61

77.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.46 R$12.45

78.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.93 R$40.19

20.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.21 R$6.14

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.43 R$12.32

15.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.94 R$4.74

-39.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$44.29 R$225

-37.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.26 R$6.38

295.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.91 R$4.60

284.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$9.37 R$47.51

-42.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.02 R$5.17

44.12%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$24.2K R$122.7K

-13.31%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$32.8K R$166.5K

-27.20%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$90.9 R$461

-7.39%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$10.91 R$55.3

119.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$21.84 R$111

32.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$23.00 R$117

173.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$27.31 R$138

6.70%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.86 R$39.83

-37.15%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$355 R$1,799

-42.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$5,900 R$29.9K

-33.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$42.90 R$217

1.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$50.1 R$254

-13.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$73.6 R$373

2.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$63.2 R$320

40.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$275 R$1,393

267.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$194 R$983

92.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$543 R$2,752

214.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$347 R$1,759

218.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,717 R$8,705

129.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,196 R$6,061

415.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$579 R$2,933

30.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.93

-4.02%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Taubate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Taubate

$194 22.8% 48.1% $180

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Taubate

$205 24% 20.7% $54

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Taubate

$134 15.7% 33.9% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Taubate

$124 14.5% 9.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Taubate

$103 12.1% 8.5% $9.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Taubate

$39 4.5% 46.9% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Taubate

$54 6.3% 2.4% $1.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $275 in Taubate. 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 30% 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $37.00 in Taubate. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $205 – making Taubate the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇷 Taubate

🕒 Local time

05:10 5:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

2 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

310,739

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Taubate 6,620 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Taubate

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 Taubate: 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 $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,278 in Taubate. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taubate, 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $852 in Taubate. That's a gap of about 42%.

Public transport costs about 59% less in Taubate. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Taubate, where all-in costs run around $852, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Taubate it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Taubate – 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 Taubate. 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.