Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Funchal and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,099 in Funchal, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Funchal
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Funchal Living Index
59

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

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Funchal

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,099

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,099 in Funchal versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Funchal $2,099
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,058 in Funchal versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Funchal $3,058
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,017 in Funchal versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Funchal $4,017
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Funchal is roughly 73% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Funchal is 56% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.90 €13.25

$10.76 MX$199

38.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 €57.6

$43.03 MX$795

50.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.51 €12.02

$11.79 MX$218

14.59%

Cappuccino

$2.00 €1.78

$3.87 MX$71.4

-48.32%

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

$1.64 €1.46

$1.37 MX$25.29

19.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.84 MX$15.44

65.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.87 €2.55

$3.10 MX$57.3

-7.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 €3.44

$5.07 MX$93.6

-23.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.44 MX$26.55

-27.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.23 MX$41.23

-22.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.47 MX$27.17

14.97%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.52

$2.53 MX$46.71

56.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.34 €9.20

$7.30 MX$135

41.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.36 €6.55

$7.86 MX$145

-6.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.82 €10.52

$12.79 MX$236

-7.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.90 MX$53.6

-40.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.44 MX$26.53

26.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.55 MX$47.07

-32.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$2.06 MX$38.03

21.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.00 MX$36.97

-7.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 €1.75

$2.01 MX$37.07

-2.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.19 MX$22.02

42.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 €0.71

$1.26 MX$23.23

-36.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.98

$4.40 MX$81.4

27.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.58 €5.85

$9.59 MX$177

-31.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.59 MX$29.41

-20.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 €2.19

$2.81 MX$51.9

-12.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 €1.93

$0.57 MX$10.47

280.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.10 €30.33

$27.82 MX$514

22.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.82 €3.40

$4.98 MX$92.1

-23.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 €1.22

$3.50 MX$64.6

-60.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.88 €16.79

$5.40 MX$99.8

249.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.47 MX$27.08

38.10%

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

$34.0K €30.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

62.01%

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

$38.0K €33.8K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

59.00%

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

$123 €109

$84.2 MX$1,556

45.92%

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

$17.20 €15.30

$23.99 MX$443

-28.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.15 €43.72

$29.02 MX$536

69.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.59 €36.99

$63.0 MX$1,164

-33.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.56 €7.61

$29.14 MX$539

-70.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.48 €7.54

$4.94 MX$91.3

71.66%

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

$419 €372

$204 MX$3,763

105.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,353 €7,430

$3,941 MX$72.8K

111.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 €54.9

$43.60 MX$806

41.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.72 €29.10

$43.12 MX$797

-24.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.8 €79.0

$75.8 MX$1,400

17.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.3 €66.1

$88.6 MX$1,637

-16.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,471 €1,309

$1,008 MX$18.6K

45.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 €1,087

$374 MX$6,911

226.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,490 €2,215

$1,708 MX$31.6K

45.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 €1,762

$1,106 MX$20.4K

79.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,739 €4,215

$3,944 MX$72.9K

20.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,237 €2,880

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-47.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,457 €1,296

$754 MX$13.9K

93.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.59

11.45

-68.65%

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

Last update for Funchal: 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

Funchal

$1.2K 58.2%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 69.4% $848

Groceries & Markets

Funchal

$243 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 6.4% $16

Eating Out

Funchal

$218 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 7.2% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Funchal

$189 9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 27.5% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Funchal

$116 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 2.5% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Funchal

$59 2.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 24.5% $14

Getting Around

Funchal

$53 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 1.7% $0.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,471 in Funchal and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Funchal pays 93% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $65.0 in Funchal vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $243 vs $258, with Funchal cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Funchal

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:46 10:46 PM

16:46 4:46 PM

6 h behind Funchal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,795

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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 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

Funchal Playa del Carmen 6,980 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Funchal
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

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

Funchal and Playa del Carmen differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($2,099 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 93% higher in Funchal, 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: $1,471 in Funchal 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 $2,099 per month in Funchal versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 23% less than in Funchal. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,099 in Funchal, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Funchal. 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.

Safety-wise, Funchal 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Funchal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.