Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Madeira

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,599 in Madeira, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Madeira outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Madeira
Learn more

Madeira Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,599 in Madeira.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Madeira $1,599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,361 in Madeira.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Madeira $2,361

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,124 in Madeira.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Madeira $3,124

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Madeira is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$11.47 €10.30

-4.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$46.16 €41.47

-6.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$9.23 €8.29

27.63%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.06 €1.85

84.95%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.86 €1.67

-31.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.40 €1.26

-44.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.26 €2.03

40.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.55 €3.19

38.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.10 €0.99

28.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.52 €1.37

46.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.61 €1.45

-11.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$3.02 €2.71

-16.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.20 €10.06

-35.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.70 €6.92

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$14.02 €12.60

-9.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.36 €2.12

17.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.41 €1.27

-2.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.85 €1.67

37.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.50 €2.25

-15.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.52 €1.37

27.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.94 €1.74

-2.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.56 €1.40

-26.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.83 €0.75

42.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$6.14 €5.52

-29.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.34 €4.80

86.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.24 €1.12

27.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.41 €2.16

10.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.27 €2.04

-75.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$42.12 €37.83

-36.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.13 €3.71

20.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.81 €0.73

311.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$17.47 €15.69

-69.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.91 €1.72

-24.61%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$34.7K €31.2K

-40.45%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$39.2K €35.2K

-40.12%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$137 €123

-38.26%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$21.23 €19.07

10.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$41.41 €37.19

-30.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$44.27 €39.77

28.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$17.51 €15.73

65.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$8.15 €7.32

-36.93%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$476 €428

-56.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$8,168 €7,337

-51.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$72.5 €65.1

-40.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$38.12 €34.24

8.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$92.4 €83.0

-19.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$93.9 €84.4

-4.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$910 €817

7.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$725 €651

-47.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,465 €1,316

16.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,179 €1,059

-8.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,005 €2,700

31.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,314 €2,079

166.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 Madeira: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Madeira

$725 45.3% 90.3% $344

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Madeira

$246 15.4% 3.6% $9.2

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Madeira

$176 11% 13.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Madeira

$200 12.5% 46.1% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Madeira

$134 8.4% 19.6% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Madeira

$61 3.8% 10% $6.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Madeira

$59 3.7% 17.7% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $910 in Madeira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $46 in Madeira. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $246, with Madeira cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇹 Madeira

🕒 Local time

11:06 11:06 AM

16:06 4:06 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

154

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Madeira 6,980 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Madeira

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 Madeira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, utilities, and transport. The 33% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,399 in Madeira 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 $910 in Madeira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,599 in Madeira – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 37% less than in Madeira. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,599 in Madeira, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Madeira. 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.