OBJECTIVES: To compare the cost of treating rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn's disease with adalimumab compared with selective immunosuppressive cytokines blockers and inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. METHODS: We conducted a through systemic review of the literature and compared data from adalimumab with etanercept, abatacept, infliximab, tocilizumab, certolizumab pegol and golimumab in treating rheumatoid arthritis, with etanercept, infliximab, and ustekinumab in the treatment of plaque psoriasis, and with infliximab and certolizumab pegol in the treatment of Crohn's disease. A cost minimization analysis was then considered appropriate under the perspective of a private health care provider in Mexico and a time horizon of five years. The costs of medication and application (2014) were considered. It has been assumed that patients have a weight of 70 kg based on the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 and a discount rate of 5% was applied. RESULTS: Adalimumab proved to be less expensive in the base case against considered alternatives. The total discounted cost of using adalimumab for 5 years for rheumatoid arthritis was $ 1,030,807.61 (followed by abatacept -$1,032,233.83- and certolizumab -$1,093,401.30-); in the case of psoriasis was $ 1,047,883.48 (followed by ustekinumab -$1,210,738.82- and etanercept -$1,237,387.15-); for Crohn's disease was $ 1,072,947.28 (followed by infliximab -$1,353,574.18- and certolizumab -$2,091,555.72-). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with adalimumab incurs lower costs compared with etanercept, abatacept, infliximab, tocilizumab, certolizumab pegol and golimumab in treating rheumatoid arthritis; etanercept, infliximab, and ustekinumab in the treatment of psoriasis and certolizumab pegol and infliximab in treating Crohn's disease. Further budget impact and probabilistic sensitivity analyses could provide additional information about these alternatives.