Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portmarnock and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,718 in Portmarnock, rent and utilities included – about $18,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Portmarnock, Ireland
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Portmarnock
🇮🇪 Ireland
$2,718
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $2,718 per month in Portmarnock vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Portmarnock $2,718
  • Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,817 per month in Portmarnock vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Portmarnock $3,817
  • Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,915 per month in Portmarnock vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Portmarnock $4,915
  • Playa del Carmen $2,959

Portmarnock costs about 126% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Portmarnock sits 100% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$22.47 €20.05
$10.92 MX$205
105.77%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$101 €90.0
$43.37 MX$813
132.67%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.44 €11.99
$11.78 MX$221
14.09%
Cappuccino
$4.75 €4.24
$3.81 MX$71.4
24.67%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.99 €2.66
$1.28 MX$24.03
133.59%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.24 €2.00
$0.78 MX$14.67
187.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$7.74 €6.90
$3.17 MX$59.3
144.16%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.51 €5.81
$4.93 MX$92.5
32.05%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.57 €1.40
$1.41 MX$26.35
11.35%
White Bread (500g)
$2.34 €2.08
$2.22 MX$41.54
5.41%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.08 €1.85
$1.42 MX$26.56
46.48%
Eggs
$4.21 €3.76
$2.52 MX$47.27
67.06%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.17 €9.07
$7.26 MX$136
40.08%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.93 €9.75
$7.70 MX$144
41.95%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.70 €12.22
$12.69 MX$238
7.96%
Apples (1kg)
$2.83 €2.53
$2.78 MX$52.2
1.80%
Banana (1kg)
$2.17 €1.94
$1.37 MX$25.64
58.39%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.79 €2.49
$2.55 MX$47.80
9.41%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.16 €3.71
$2.12 MX$39.78
96.23%
Potato (1kg)
$1.90 €1.70
$1.94 MX$36.32
-2.06%
Onion (1kg)
$1.53 €1.37
$1.89 MX$35.34
-19.05%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.25 €1.12
$1.15 MX$21.49
8.70%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.81 €1.62
$1.18 MX$22.09
53.39%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$20.46 €18.25
$4.30 MX$80.5
375.81%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.45 €12.00
$9.95 MX$186
35.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.49 €3.11
$1.58 MX$29.67
120.89%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.42 €3.05
$2.67 MX$50.1
28.09%
🚌 Getting Around
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.57 €2.30
$0.55 MX$10.37
367.27%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.62 MX$499
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.04 €4.49
$4.97 MX$93.1
1.41%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.49 €1.33
$3.33 MX$62.4
-55.26%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$37.12 €33.12
$5.36 MX$100
592.54%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.13 €1.90
$1.44 MX$27.06
47.92%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.6K €34.5K
$20.7K MX$387.3K
87.02%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$37.4K €33.4K
$23.5K MX$439.7K
59.32%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$239 €213
$84.8 MX$1,589
181.46%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.37 €16.39
$23.41 MX$439
-21.53%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$51.2 €45.67
$28.66 MX$537
78.61%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$55.1 €49.14
$57.1 MX$1,069
-3.47%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$28.91 MX$542
-
Cinema Ticket
$13.65 €12.18
$5.14 MX$96.3
165.56%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,021 €911
$207 MX$3,871
394.06%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,175 €4,617
$3,927 MX$73.6K
31.77%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$101 €90.4
$43.35 MX$812
133.79%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$47.74 €42.60
$41.44 MX$777
15.20%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 €99.5
$74.2 MX$1,390
50.23%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$114 €102
$89.3 MX$1,672
28.04%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,441 €1,285
$980 MX$18.4K
47.06%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,450 €1,294
$381 MX$7,136
280.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,279 €2,033
$1,708 MX$32.0K
33.44%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,024 €1,806
$1,075 MX$20.1K
88.29%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$3,943 MX$73.9K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,524 €3,144
$6,158 MX$115.4K
-42.77%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Portmarnock
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$735 MX$13.8K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.68
11.45
-67.86%

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

Last update for Portmarnock: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Portmarnock
$1.4K
Playa del Carmen
$381 73.7% $1.1K
Eating Out
Portmarnock
$350
Playa del Carmen
$202 42.1% $147
Groceries & Markets
Portmarnock
$336
Playa del Carmen
$255 24.2% $82
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Portmarnock
$308
Playa del Carmen
$137 55.6% $171
Clothing & Footwear
Portmarnock
$169
Playa del Carmen
$112 33.8% $57
Sport & Entertainment
Portmarnock
$82
Playa del Carmen
$67 18.3% $15
Getting Around
Portmarnock
$23 *
Playa del Carmen
$50 121% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,441 in Portmarnock versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. 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 $101 in Portmarnock versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $336 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇮🇪 Portmarnock
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
19:02 7:02 PM
14:02 2:02 PM
5 h behind Portmarnock
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,285
149,923
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Portmarnock Playa del Carmen 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Portmarnock
  • Playa del Carmen

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
Portmarnock vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Portmarnock?
Yes – Portmarnock is pricier by about 126%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,077 per month in Portmarnock and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,441 in Portmarnock.
What are total monthly expenses in Portmarnock and in Playa del Carmen?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,718 in Portmarnock and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 56% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $1,021 per month in Portmarnock and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Portmarnock or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Portmarnock at $2,718. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portmarnock it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Portmarnock or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
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.

Portmarnock vs other spots: cost of living compared

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