Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Costa da Caparica and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,615 in Costa da Caparica, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Costa da Caparica
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Costa da Caparica Living Index
58

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

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Costa da Caparica

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,615

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Costa da Caparica 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 Costa da Caparica and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,615 in Costa da Caparica versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Costa da Caparica $1,615
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,360 in Costa da Caparica versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Costa da Caparica $2,360
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,105 in Costa da Caparica versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Costa da Caparica $3,105
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Costa da Caparica is roughly 34% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Costa da Caparica is 19% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.39 €10.18

$10.92 MX$203

4.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.52 €41.55

$43.37 MX$805

7.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 €8.20

$11.78 MX$219

-21.99%

Cappuccino

$2.06 €1.84

$3.81 MX$70.7

-45.93%

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

$1.83 €1.64

$1.28 MX$23.81

42.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.78 MX$14.54

76.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 €2.08

$3.17 MX$58.8

-26.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 €3.15

$4.93 MX$91.7

-28.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 €0.98

$1.41 MX$26.12

-22.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 €1.38

$2.22 MX$41.17

-30.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.42 MX$26.32

13.38%

Eggs

$2.97 €2.65

$2.52 MX$46.85

17.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.50 €10.28

$7.26 MX$135

58.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.05

$7.70 MX$143

2.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 €12.42

$12.69 MX$236

9.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.05

$2.78 MX$51.7

-17.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.37 MX$25.41

7.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 €1.65

$2.55 MX$47.37

-27.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.49 €2.22

$2.12 MX$39.43

17.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.94 MX$36.00

-24.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.89 MX$35.02

-2.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.15 MX$21.29

34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 €0.77

$1.18 MX$21.89

-27.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.05 €5.41

$4.30 MX$79.8

40.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 €4.55

$9.95 MX$185

-48.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.58 MX$29.41

-17.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 €2.11

$2.67 MX$49.60

-11.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.10

$0.55 MX$10.28

327.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.66 €37.21

$26.62 MX$494

56.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 €3.82

$4.97 MX$92.3

-13.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 €0.72

$3.33 MX$61.9

-75.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.45 €15.59

$5.36 MX$99.5

225.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.44 MX$26.82

31.94%

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

$34.9K €31.2K

$20.7K MX$383.8K

68.95%

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

$40.2K €35.9K

$23.5K MX$435.8K

71.31%

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

$134 €119

$84.8 MX$1,575

57.74%

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

$21.44 €19.15

$23.41 MX$435

-8.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.62 €38.07

$28.66 MX$532

48.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.74 €39.96

$57.1 MX$1,059

-21.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.40 €15.54

$28.91 MX$537

-39.81%

Cinema Ticket

$8.61 €7.69

$5.14 MX$95.4

67.51%

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

$466 €416

$207 MX$3,836

125.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,381 €7,486

$3,927 MX$72.9K

113.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.4 €66.4

$43.35 MX$805

71.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.29 €35.09

$41.44 MX$770

-5.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.9 €83.0

$74.2 MX$1,378

25.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.6 €83.6

$89.3 MX$1,657

4.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$938 €837

$980 MX$18.2K

-4.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 €660

$381 MX$7,072

94.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,495 €1,336

$1,708 MX$31.7K

-12.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,154 €1,030

$1,075 MX$20.0K

7.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,965 €2,649

$3,943 MX$73.2K

-24.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,339 €2,089

$6,158 MX$114.4K

-62.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

11.45

-56.24%

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

Last update for Costa da Caparica: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Costa da Caparica

$739 45.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 48.5% $359

Groceries & Markets

Costa da Caparica

$246 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 3.4% $8.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Costa da Caparica

$198 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 30.8% $61

Eating Out

Costa da Caparica

$175 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 15.6% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Costa da Caparica

$135 8.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 17.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Costa da Caparica

$62 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 8.7% $5.4

Getting Around

Costa da Caparica

$59 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 15% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $938 in Costa da Caparica and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Costa da Caparica vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $246 vs $255, with Costa da Caparica cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Costa da Caparica

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:32 9:32 AM

04:32 4:32 AM

5 h behind Costa da Caparica

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,972

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.38 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Costa da Caparica Playa del Carmen 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Costa da Caparica
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

Costa da Caparica vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,615 in Costa da Caparica and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,423 in Costa da Caparica and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $938 in Costa da Caparica versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $47 in Costa da Caparica. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,615 per month in Costa da Caparica versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,615 in Costa da Caparica, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Costa da Caparica. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.