Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alcabideche

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,626 in Alcabideche, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Alcabideche
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Alcabideche Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Alcabideche

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Alcabideche

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,626 in Alcabideche.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Alcabideche $1,626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,382 in Alcabideche.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Alcabideche $2,382

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,137 in Alcabideche.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Alcabideche $3,137

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 26% less than in Alcabideche, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Alcabideche is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$12.24 €10.94

-12.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$55.8 €49.89

-21.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$8.76 €7.83

34.59%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$2.54 €2.27

49.21%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.50 €1.34

-13.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.21 €1.08

-31.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.77 €2.48

13.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.31 €2.96

48.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.03 €0.92

36.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.21 €1.08

81.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.53 €1.37

-3.92%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.38 €3.02

-26.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$8.79 €7.86

-17.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$7.56 €6.76

5.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$14.83 €13.26

-13.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.00 €2.68

-3.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.30 €1.17

6.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.85 €1.65

34.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$2.28 €2.04

-10.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$2.05 €1.84

-1.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.63 €1.46

16.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.56 €1.39

-26.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.68 €0.60

82.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.80 €5.19

-26.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$3.29 €2.94

198.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.91 €0.82

74.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.43 €2.17

13.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$2.28 €2.04

-77.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$40.43 €36.15

-32.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.70 €3.31

28.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.75 €0.67

333.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$16.54 €14.79

-67.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.10 €1.87

-27.14%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$33.8K €30.2K

-37.16%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$38.8K €34.7K

-40.00%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$101 €90.2

-17.26%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$20.90 €18.69

10.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$34.74 €31.06

-20.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$39.95 €35.72

41.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$16.87 €15.08

67.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.80 €6.98

-35.90%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$590 €528

-64.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$11.2K €10.0K

-53.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$115 €103

-62.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$34.16 €30.55

24.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$83.1 €74.3

-12.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$105 €93.7

-15.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$961 €860

3.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$787 €704

-51.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,615 €1,444

3.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,164 €1,040

-7.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$3,100 €2,772

26.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,343 €2,096

161.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,092 €977

-23.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.54

223.45%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Alcabideche: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Alcabideche

$787 48.4% 106% $405

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Alcabideche

$232 14.3% 9.8% $25

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Alcabideche

$186 11.4% 7.1% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Alcabideche

$157 9.6% 16.6% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Alcabideche

$152 9.3% 36.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Alcabideche

$56 3.4% 16.4% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Alcabideche

$57 3.5% 12.9% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $961 in Alcabideche. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alcabideche pays 31% 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: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $56 in Alcabideche. Groceries flip the comparison at $257 vs $232, with Alcabideche cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇹 Alcabideche

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

23:22 11:22 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

44,177

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alcabideche 7,550 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alcabideche

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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Alcabideche. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $961 in Alcabideche. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,626 in Alcabideche – Playa del Carmen is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 32% less than in Alcabideche. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,626 in Alcabideche, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Alcabideche. 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, Alcabideche on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.