Last update: Oct 2026

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

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.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
77

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

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Costa da Caparica

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,615

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Costa da Caparica

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 Costa da Caparica actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 25% less than in Costa da Caparica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$11.39 €10.18

-4.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$46.52 €41.55

-6.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$9.19 €8.20

28.18%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$2.06 €1.84

84.95%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.83 €1.64

-30.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$1.38 €1.23

-43.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$2.33 €2.08

36.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$3.52 €3.15

40.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$1.09 €0.98

29.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$1.54 €1.38

44.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.61 €1.44

-11.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.97 €2.65

-15.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.50 €10.28

-36.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.90 €7.05

-2.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$13.90 €12.42

-8.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$2.30 €2.05

20.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.47 €1.31

-6.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$1.84 €1.65

38.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$2.49 €2.22

-14.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.47 €1.31

31.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$1.84 €1.64

2.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$1.55 €1.38

-25.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.86 €0.77

37.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$6.05 €5.41

-28.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.09 €4.55

95.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.30 €1.16

21.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$2.36 €2.11

13.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$2.35 €2.10

-76.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

$41.66 €37.21

-36.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$4.28 €3.82

16.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$0.80 €0.72

316.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$17.45 €15.59

-69.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.90 €1.69

-24.21%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$34.9K €31.2K

-40.81%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$40.2K €35.9K

-41.63%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$134 €119

-36.61%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$21.44 €19.15

9.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$42.62 €38.07

-32.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$44.74 €39.96

27.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$17.40 €15.54

66.15%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$8.61 €7.69

-40.30%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$466 €416

-55.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$8,381 €7,486

-53.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$74.4 €66.4

-41.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$39.29 €35.09

5.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$92.9 €83.0

-20.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$93.6 €83.6

-4.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$938 €837

4.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$739 €660

-48.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$1,495 €1,336

14.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,154 €1,030

-6.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$2,965 €2,649

32.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$2,339 €2,089

163.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.01

128.54%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Costa da Caparica: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Costa da Caparica

$739 45.8% 94.2% $359

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Costa da Caparica

$246 15.3% 3.3% $8.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Costa da Caparica

$175 10.8% 13.5% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Costa da Caparica

$198 12.3% 44.5% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Costa da Caparica

$135 8.4% 20.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Costa da Caparica

$62 3.8% 8% $5.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Costa da Caparica

$59 3.7% 17.6% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

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

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

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇹 Costa da Caparica

🕒 Local time

04:31 4:31 AM

09:31 9:31 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,972

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 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 = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Costa da Caparica

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 Costa da Caparica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,423 in Costa da Caparica 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $938 in Costa da Caparica. 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 $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,615 in Costa da Caparica – 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.