Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matosinhos and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,913 in Matosinhos, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

92

Cost of Living Index in Matosinhos
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Matosinhos Living Index
58

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

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Matosinhos

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,913

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,913 in Matosinhos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Matosinhos $1,913
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,802 in Matosinhos versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Matosinhos $2,802
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,691 in Matosinhos versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Matosinhos $3,691
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Matosinhos is roughly 59% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Matosinhos is 41% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.36 €11.96

$10.92 MX$205

22.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.26 €43.22

$43.37 MX$814

11.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 €8.89

$11.78 MX$221

-15.79%

Cappuccino

$2.69 €2.41

$3.81 MX$71.5

-29.40%

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

$2.00 €1.79

$1.28 MX$24.07

56.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.36

$0.78 MX$14.70

94.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 €1.96

$3.17 MX$59.5

-30.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 €3.09

$4.93 MX$92.7

-30.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.41 MX$26.40

-22.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 €1.50

$2.22 MX$41.62

-24.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.42 MX$26.61

19.01%

Eggs

$3.41 €3.06

$2.52 MX$47.36

35.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.78 €10.55

$7.26 MX$136

62.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.04 €6.31

$7.70 MX$144

-8.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.72 €13.18

$12.69 MX$238

16.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 €1.98

$2.78 MX$52.3

-20.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.37 MX$25.68

10.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.69

$2.55 MX$47.89

-25.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.49 €2.23

$2.12 MX$39.86

17.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 €1.41

$1.94 MX$36.39

-18.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.89 MX$35.41

-2.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 €1.44

$1.15 MX$21.53

39.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.18 MX$22.13

-34.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.25 €5.59

$4.30 MX$80.6

45.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.44 €4.88

$9.95 MX$187

-45.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.58 MX$29.73

-13.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.88

$2.67 MX$50.1

-21.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 €2.47

$0.55 MX$10.39

401.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.24 €40.51

$26.62 MX$500

69.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.32 €3.87

$4.97 MX$93.3

-13.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 €0.73

$3.33 MX$62.5

-75.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.87 €12.43

$5.36 MX$101

158.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 €2.00

$1.44 MX$27.11

54.86%

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

$33.3K €29.8K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

61.24%

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

$37.8K €33.9K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

61.22%

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

$164 €147

$84.8 MX$1,592

93.96%

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

$22.58 €20.23

$23.41 MX$439

-3.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.82 €29.39

$28.66 MX$538

14.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.5 €55.9

$57.1 MX$1,071

9.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.39 €19.16

$28.91 MX$543

-26.01%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 €8.12

$5.14 MX$96.5

76.26%

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

$564 €505

$207 MX$3,878

173.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K €9,403

$3,927 MX$73.7K

167.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.8 €84.9

$43.35 MX$814

118.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.05 €33.19

$41.44 MX$778

-10.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 €83.8

$74.2 MX$1,393

26.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.7

$89.3 MX$1,676

18.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,178 €1,055

$980 MX$18.4K

20.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$949 €850

$381 MX$7,150

149.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,238 €2,005

$1,708 MX$32.1K

31.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,563 €1,400

$1,075 MX$20.2K

45.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,277 €3,830

$3,943 MX$74.0K

8.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,731 €3,341

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-39.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,563 €1,400

$735 MX$13.8K

112.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

11.45

-67.95%

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

Last update for Matosinhos: 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

Matosinhos

$949 49.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 59.9% $568

Groceries & Markets

Matosinhos

$249 13%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 2.4% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matosinhos

$220 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 37.8% $83

Eating Out

Matosinhos

$201 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 0.8% $1.5

Clothing & Footwear

Matosinhos

$149 7.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 25% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Matosinhos

$81 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 16.5% $13

Getting Around

Matosinhos

$65 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 22% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,178 in Matosinhos and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Matosinhos pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Matosinhos vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $249 vs $255, with Matosinhos cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Matosinhos

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:11 10:11 AM

05:11 5:11 AM

5 h behind Matosinhos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,586

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Matosinhos
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 37% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Matosinhos is about 2.1 times higher, 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: $1,178 in Matosinhos versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 41% less than in Matosinhos. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,913 per month in Matosinhos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 37% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,913 in Matosinhos, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Matosinhos. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Matosinhos on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.