Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castelo Branco and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Castelo Branco: $1,100 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

53

Cost of Living Index in Castelo Branco
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Castelo Branco Living Index
59

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

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Castelo Branco

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,100

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Castelo Branco and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Castelo Branco and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,100 in Castelo Branco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Castelo Branco $1,100
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,666 in Castelo Branco versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Castelo Branco $1,666
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,233 in Castelo Branco versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Castelo Branco $2,233
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Castelo Branco costs roughly 9% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Castelo Branco 19% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.29 €10.05

$10.76 MX$199

4.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.12 €34.80

$43.03 MX$795

-9.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.62 €8.56

$11.79 MX$218

-18.41%

Cappuccino

$1.25 €1.11

$3.87 MX$71.4

-67.70%

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

$1.41 €1.25

$1.37 MX$25.29

2.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 €1.12

$0.84 MX$15.44

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.09 €0.97

$3.10 MX$57.3

-64.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 €1.96

$5.07 MX$93.6

-56.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.44 MX$26.55

-18.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.23 MX$41.23

-41.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.47 MX$27.17

-1.36%

Eggs

$3.87 €3.44

$2.53 MX$46.71

52.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.76 €7.79

$7.30 MX$135

20.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.80 €5.16

$7.86 MX$145

-26.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.58 €7.63

$12.79 MX$236

-32.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.90 MX$53.6

-27.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.44 MX$26.53

-9.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.55 MX$47.07

-31.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.30 €2.05

$2.06 MX$38.03

11.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 €1.47

$2.00 MX$36.97

-17.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.01 MX$37.07

-27.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.19 MX$22.02

-4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.72

$1.26 MX$23.23

-35.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.97 €5.31

$4.40 MX$81.4

35.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.39 €3.01

$9.59 MX$177

-64.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.59 MX$29.41

-26.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.81 MX$51.9

-30.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 €1.11

$0.57 MX$10.47

119.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.20 €19.75

$27.82 MX$514

-20.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 €2.00

$4.98 MX$92.1

-54.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 €0.66

$3.50 MX$64.6

-78.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.67 €14.83

$5.40 MX$99.8

208.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.47 MX$27.08

38.78%

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

$33.5K €29.8K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

59.67%

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

$40.5K €36.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

69.33%

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

$120 €106

$84.2 MX$1,556

42.09%

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

$19.03 €16.92

$23.99 MX$443

-20.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.99 €28.45

$29.02 MX$536

10.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.32 €34.97

$63.0 MX$1,164

-37.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$6.70 €5.96

$4.94 MX$91.3

35.63%

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

$678 €603

$204 MX$3,763

232.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

329.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.7 €70.0

$43.60 MX$806

80.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.71 €39.77

$43.12 MX$797

3.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.1 €73.0

$75.8 MX$1,400

8.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.6 €60.2

$88.6 MX$1,637

-23.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$458 €407

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-54.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 €323

$374 MX$6,911

-2.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 €708

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-53.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 €538

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-45.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,574 €1,400

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-60.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,322 €1,176

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-78.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,617 €1,438

$754 MX$13.9K

114.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.45

-66.38%

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

Last update for Castelo Branco: October 13, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Castelo Branco

$363 33%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 3% $11

Groceries & Markets

Castelo Branco

$203 18.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 27.5% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castelo Branco

$171 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 19.6% $33

Eating Out

Castelo Branco

$155 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 30.8% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Castelo Branco

$123 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 8.1% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Castelo Branco

$53 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 38.2% $20

Getting Around

Castelo Branco

$33 3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 58.4% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $458 in Castelo Branco and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Castelo Branco pays 114% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Castelo Branco vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $203 vs $258 per month, with Castelo Branco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Castelo Branco

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:21 2:21 PM

08:21 8:21 AM

6 h behind Castelo Branco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

52,291

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Castelo Branco Playa del Carmen 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Castelo Branco
Playa del Carmen

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

Castelo Branco vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castelo Branco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 10% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 114% higher in Castelo Branco, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $458 in Castelo Branco versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,100 per month in Castelo Branco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Castelo Branco runs roughly 25% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,100 in Castelo Branco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Castelo Branco but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Castelo Branco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Castelo Branco is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Castelo Branco and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Castelo Branco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.