Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quarteira and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,662 in Quarteira, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Quarteira
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Quarteira Living Index
57

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

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Quarteira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,662

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,662 per month in Quarteira vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Quarteira $1,662
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $2,414 per month in Quarteira vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Quarteira $2,414
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,166 per month in Quarteira vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Quarteira $3,166
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Quarteira costs about 38% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Quarteira sits 23% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.93 €12.42

$10.67 MX$201

30.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.5 €50.4

$43.80 MX$824

28.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.83

$11.79 MX$222

-6.53%

Cappuccino

$1.85 €1.65

$3.79 MX$71.2

-51.19%

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

$1.55 €1.39

$1.30 MX$24.41

19.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$0.83 MX$15.69

46.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.84 €2.53

$3.15 MX$59.2

-9.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$4.93 MX$92.9

-47.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 €0.91

$1.41 MX$26.51

-27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 €1.12

$2.20 MX$41.32

-42.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.47 MX$27.71

4.08%

Eggs

$3.47 €3.10

$2.50 MX$46.99

38.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 €8.03

$7.29 MX$137

23.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.21 €5.54

$7.95 MX$150

-21.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.25 €10.04

$12.86 MX$242

-12.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 €2.23

$2.90 MX$54.5

-13.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.38 MX$26.03

-5.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 €1.41

$2.49 MX$46.88

-36.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.52 €2.25

$2.03 MX$38.20

24.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 €1.78

$2.02 MX$38.11

-1.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.90 MX$35.82

-15.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 €1.24

$1.14 MX$21.54

22.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.24 MX$23.32

-48.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.06 €5.40

$4.27 MX$80.4

41.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.83 €3.42

$9.81 MX$185

-60.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 €0.86

$1.59 MX$29.85

-39.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 €2.25

$2.75 MX$51.7

-8.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.42 €4.84

$0.51 MX$9.69

962.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.66 €3.27

$4.76 MX$89.6

-23.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.66 €0.59

$3.25 MX$61.1

-79.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.87 €15.05

$5.39 MX$101

212.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.53 MX$28.76

39.22%

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

$33.9K €30.2K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

59.74%

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

$38.1K €34.0K

$23.3K MX$437.8K

63.87%

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

$113 €101

$83.5 MX$1,571

35.17%

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

$21.94 €19.57

$23.19 MX$436

-5.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.23 €31.42

$27.61 MX$520

27.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.2 €81.4

$56.4 MX$1,062

61.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$8.92 €7.96

$5.00 MX$94.1

78.40%

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

$458 €408

$207 MX$3,897

120.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.1K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

115.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.6 €63.9

$43.45 MX$818

64.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.13 €39.36

$42.54 MX$801

3.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €93.1

$72.8 MX$1,369

43.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 €92.0

$88.4 MX$1,663

16.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$841 €750

$995 MX$18.7K

-15.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$798 €711

$382 MX$7,197

108.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,430 €1,275

$1,674 MX$31.5K

-14.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,173 €1,046

$1,081 MX$20.3K

8.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,372 €1,224

$832 MX$15.7K

64.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.54

11.45

-69.08%

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

Last update for Quarteira: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quarteira

$798 48%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 52.1% $415

Groceries & Markets

Quarteira

$214 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 20.4% $44

Eating Out

Quarteira

$197 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 1.6% $3.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quarteira

$170 10.2%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 21% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Quarteira

$145 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 23.6% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Quarteira

$109 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 39.1% $43

Getting Around

Quarteira

$29 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 76.1% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $841 in Quarteira versus $995 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.

Salaries run about 65% higher in Quarteira. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $56 in Quarteira versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $214 in Quarteira vs $257 in Playa del Carmen – so Quarteira wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Quarteira

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:04 4:04 AM

23:04 11:04 PM

5 h behind Quarteira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,421

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Quarteira Playa del Carmen 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Quarteira
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

Quarteira vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Quarteira is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,492 per month in Quarteira and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Quarteira, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $841 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,662 in Quarteira and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 28% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $458 per month in Quarteira and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Quarteira at $1,662. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Quarteira it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,662 in Quarteira. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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