Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ermesinde

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,650 in Ermesinde, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Ermesinde
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Ermesinde Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ermesinde

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,650

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Ermesinde actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,650 in Ermesinde, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ermesinde $1,650

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,412 in Ermesinde, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Ermesinde $2,412

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,175 in Ermesinde, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Ermesinde $3,175

Playa del Carmen is about 27% cheaper than Ermesinde, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Ermesinde is 22% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$13.03 €11.59

-16.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$49.71 €44.22

-11.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$9.00 €8.01

30.67%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.01 €1.79

83.08%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.00 €1.78

-33.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.44 €1.28

-43.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.26 €2.01

35.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.82 €2.51

75.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.15 €1.02

27.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.61 €1.43

37.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.49 €1.33

-0.67%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.50 €3.11

-28.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.33 €11.85

-43.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.26 €7.34

-3.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$18.98 €16.88

-33.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.21 €1.96

25.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.47 €1.31

-2.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.08 €1.85

25.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.55 €2.27

-16.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.72 €1.53

17.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.11 €1.88

-5.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.58 €1.40

-27.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.46 €1.30

-17.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.84 €6.09

-37.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$4.56 €4.06

119.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.35 €1.20

14.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.50 €2.22

6.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$2.20 €1.95

-75.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$40.91 €36.39

-32.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$4.46 €3.97

9.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.44 €1.28

138.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$16.84 €14.98

-68.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.17 €1.93

-33.18%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$32.4K €28.8K

-34.73%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$37.6K €33.4K

-38.73%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$176 €157

-51.57%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$17.75 €15.79

32.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$43.47 €38.67

-34.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$39.87 €35.46

55.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$15.72 €13.99

82.44%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.74 €6.88

-34.11%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$369 €328

-45.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$6,307 €5,610

-37.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$116 €103

-61.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$36.37 €32.35

13.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$76.0 €67.6

-4.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$104 €92.2

-13.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$921 €819

6.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$679 €604

-45.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,362 €1,211

23.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,042 €927

5.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,302 €2,937

19.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$2,371 €2,109

158.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.27

250.15%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Ermesinde: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Ermesinde

$679 41.2% 82.3% $307

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Ermesinde

$281 17% 8.7% $22

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Ermesinde

$186 11.3% 7% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ermesinde

$238 14.4% 73.1% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ermesinde

$149 9.1% 33.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Ermesinde

$55 3.4% 23.5% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Ermesinde

$61 3.7% 18.7% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $921 in Ermesinde. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $50.0 in Ermesinde. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $281 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇹 Ermesinde

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

21:30 9:30 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

39,095

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Ermesinde 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ermesinde

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 Ermesinde: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ermesinde costs about 37% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,475 in Ermesinde. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $369 in Ermesinde. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 9% more in Ermesinde, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Ermesinde at $1,650. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ermesinde it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,650 in Ermesinde. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ermesinde makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.