Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Setubal and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,626 in Setubal, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Setubal outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Setubal
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Setubal Living Index
58

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

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Setubal

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,626

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,626 per month in Setubal vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Setubal $1,626
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,344 per month in Setubal vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Setubal $2,344
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,062 per month in Setubal vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Setubal $3,062
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Setubal costs about 35% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Setubal sits 19% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.12 €10.86

$10.92 MX$205

10.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.89 €42.89

$43.37 MX$814

10.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 €7.82

$11.78 MX$221

-25.81%

Cappuccino

$2.01 €1.80

$3.81 MX$71.5

-47.24%

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

$1.98 €1.77

$1.28 MX$24.07

54.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.78 MX$14.70

96.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 €2.05

$3.17 MX$59.5

-27.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.97

$4.93 MX$92.7

-32.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 €0.92

$1.41 MX$26.40

-27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.22 MX$41.62

-31.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.57

$1.42 MX$26.61

23.24%

Eggs

$3.39 €3.04

$2.52 MX$47.36

34.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 €10.36

$7.26 MX$136

59.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.51 €6.72

$7.70 MX$144

-2.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.55 €13.03

$12.69 MX$238

14.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 €2.13

$2.78 MX$52.3

-14.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.37 MX$25.68

-2.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 €1.65

$2.55 MX$47.89

-27.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$2.12 MX$39.86

27.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.94 MX$36.39

-14.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.89 MX$35.41

5.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.15 MX$21.53

31.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.64

$1.18 MX$22.13

-39.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 €5.29

$4.30 MX$80.6

37.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.54 €4.06

$9.95 MX$187

-54.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.84

$1.58 MX$29.73

-41.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.93

$2.67 MX$50.1

-19.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.34 €3.89

$0.55 MX$10.39

689.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.44 €40.69

$26.62 MX$500

70.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 €3.32

$4.97 MX$93.3

-25.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 €1.28

$3.33 MX$62.5

-57.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.83 €12.38

$5.36 MX$101

158.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.44 MX$27.11

45.14%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

59.47%

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

$38.3K €34.3K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

63.38%

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

$98.6 €88.3

$84.8 MX$1,592

16.24%

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

$20.71 €18.55

$23.41 MX$439

-11.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.10 €29.64

$28.66 MX$538

15.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.86 €27.64

$57.1 MX$1,071

-45.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.87 €14.21

$28.91 MX$543

-45.11%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 €6.85

$5.14 MX$96.5

48.83%

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

$595 €533

$207 MX$3,878

188.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K €9,739

$3,927 MX$73.7K

176.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.2 €60.2

$43.35 MX$814

54.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.07 €33.20

$41.44 MX$778

-10.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.9 €64.4

$74.2 MX$1,393

-3.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.3 €83.6

$89.3 MX$1,676

4.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 €882

$980 MX$18.4K

0.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$809 €724

$381 MX$7,150

112.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 €1,424

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-6.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,171 €1,049

$1,075 MX$20.2K

8.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 €3,755

$3,943 MX$74.0K

6.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,341 €2,096

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-61.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,296 €1,161

$735 MX$13.8K

76.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.45

-66.38%

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

Last update for Setubal: 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

Setubal

$809 49.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 52.9% $428

Groceries & Markets

Setubal

$244 15%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 4.4% $11

Eating Out

Setubal

$179 11%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 12.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Setubal

$152 9.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 10.2% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Setubal

$121 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 7.9% $9.6

Getting Around

Setubal

$74 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 31.5% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Setubal

$46 2.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 45.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $985 in Setubal 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.

Salaries run about 77% higher in Setubal. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Setubal versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $244 in Setubal vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Setubal wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Setubal

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:49 3:49 PM

10:49 10:49 AM

5 h behind Setubal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,519

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Setubal Playa del Carmen 7,600 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Setubal
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

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

Yes – Setubal is pricier by about 35%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,439 per month in Setubal and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $985 in Setubal and $980 in Playa del Carmen. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,626 in Setubal and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 26% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 41% 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 $1,204, than in Setubal at $1,626. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Setubal 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,626 in Setubal. 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, Setubal makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.