Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sao Joao da Madeira

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sao Joao da Madeira outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Sao Joao da Madeira
Learn more

Sao Joao da Madeira Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Sao Joao da Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,510

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Sao Joao da Madeira $1,510

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,107 in Sao Joao da Madeira, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Sao Joao da Madeira $2,107

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,704 in Sao Joao da Madeira, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Sao Joao da Madeira $2,704

Playa del Carmen is about 20% cheaper than Sao Joao da Madeira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Sao Joao da Madeira is 12% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$10.06 €8.95

6.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$19.79 €17.60

117.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.85 €6.98

50.19%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.14 €1.01

239.47%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.09 €0.97

25.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.97 €0.87

-13.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$3.32 €2.95

-6.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.17 €1.93

133.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$0.85 €0.75

69.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.32 €0.28

596.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.14 €1.01

28.95%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.68 €2.39

-5.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.58 €7.63

-14.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.52 €4.91

42.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$6.51 €5.79

96.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.03 €1.81

42.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.35 €1.20

6.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.83 €1.63

39.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.85 €2.54

-27.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.97 €1.75

1.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.88 €1.67

6.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.24 €1.10

-4.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.98 €0.87

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.28 €5.59

-29.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$4.53 €4.03

111.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.21 €1.07

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.63 €1.45

72.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.24 €1.99

-74.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$39.68 €35.29

-29.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.33 €3.85

15.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.78 €1.58

96.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$16.67 €14.83

-67.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.90 €1.69

-22.63%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$33.1K €29.4K

-36.56%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$37.7K €33.5K

-36.52%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$110 €97.7

-23.32%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$16.96 €15.08

41.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$46.09 €40.99

-37.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$37.59 €33.44

67.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$15.09 €13.42

93.11%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.44 €4.84

-9.19%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$341 €303

-40.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.0K €8,932

-60.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$65.5 €58.3

-33.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$37.57 €33.42

14.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$82.7 €73.5

-8.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$98.5 €87.6

-10.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$957 €851

5.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$768 €683

-51.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,517 €1,349

12.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,164 €1,035

-4.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,957 €2,631

33.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,267 €2,017

172.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,048 €932

-28.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.55

222.54%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sao Joao da Madeira: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$768 50.8% 105% $394

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$184 12.2% 28.7% $74

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$147 9.7% 27.4% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$173 11.5% 26% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$128 8.5% 13.2% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$48 3.2% 33.5% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$62 4.1% 17.7% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $957 in Sao Joao da Madeira. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 39% higher in Sao Joao da Madeira, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $20.00 in Sao Joao da Madeira. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $184 – making Sao Joao da Madeira the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇹 Sao Joao da Madeira

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

19:29 7:29 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

22,144

💱 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sao Joao da Madeira 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sao Joao da 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 Sao Joao da Madeira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sao Joao da Madeira is pricier by about 25%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,265 in Sao Joao da Madeira. 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira. That's a gap of about 25%.

Public transport costs about 43% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Sao Joao da Madeira at $1,510. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sao Joao da Madeira it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, Sao Joao da Madeira makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.