Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Lisbon $2,202
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Lisbon $3,274
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Lisbon $4,346
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Lisbon is roughly 83% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$10.86 MX$201

56.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$44.21 MX$817

40.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$11.76 MX$217

-6.29%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$3.68 MX$68.0

-15.22%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.34 MX$24.79

69.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.82 MX$15.24

112.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.06 MX$56.6

11.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$4.94 MX$91.2

-24.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.47 MX$27.17

-20.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.22 MX$40.95

-16.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.48 MX$27.32

4.05%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.49 MX$45.99

63.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$7.52 MX$139

71.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$7.96 MX$147

-0.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$12.57 MX$232

40.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.78 MX$51.3

-18.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.43 MX$26.37

22.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.62 MX$48.37

-27.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.14 MX$39.49

19.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.02 MX$37.38

-8.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.99 MX$36.74

-1.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.14 MX$21.01

27.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.20 MX$22.18

-35.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$4.26 MX$78.7

57.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.02 MX$185

-43.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.54 MX$28.41

-11.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.66 MX$49.17

-20.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.53 MX$9.73

337.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$27.51 MX$508

61.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$4.90 MX$90.6

-19.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$3.43 MX$63.5

-69.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$5.38 MX$99.4

218.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.45 MX$26.76

51.03%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

59.67%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

66.24%

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

$164 €146

$85.4 MX$1,577

91.90%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$23.46 MX$434

-21.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$28.43 MX$525

15.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$62.2 MX$1,149

-26.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$28.68 MX$530

-34.87%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$5.10 MX$94.3

91.18%

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

$684 €608

$201 MX$3,715

240.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

346.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$44.39 MX$820

133.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$41.35 MX$764

11.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$72.7 MX$1,344

37.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$89.6 MX$1,656

39.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$979 MX$18.1K

62.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$373 MX$6,887

213.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,681 MX$31.1K

69.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$1,095 MX$20.2K

81.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$3,949 MX$73.0K

97.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-28.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$738 MX$13.6K

116.94%

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 Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 68.1% $796

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 5.4% $15

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 19.1% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 36.2% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 33.7% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 10.8% $7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 17.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 117% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:20 3:20 PM

09:20 9:20 AM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Playa del Carmen 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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

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

Lisbon and Playa del Carmen differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 117% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. 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, Lisbon 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 83% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.