Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Silves and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,629 in Silves, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Silves outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Silves
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Silves Living Index
59

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

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Silves

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,629

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,629 per month in Silves vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Silves $1,629
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $2,393 per month in Silves vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Silves $2,393
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $3,157 per month in Silves vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Silves $3,157
Playa del Carmen $3,016

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

Silves sits 21% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.54 €12.04

$10.76 MX$199

25.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.10 €41.90

$43.03 MX$795

9.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 €8.28

$11.79 MX$218

-21.12%

Cappuccino

$1.92 €1.71

$3.87 MX$71.4

-50.39%

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

$1.93 €1.72

$1.37 MX$25.29

40.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.84 MX$15.44

72.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 €2.51

$3.10 MX$57.3

-9.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.04

$5.07 MX$93.6

-32.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.44 MX$26.55

-23.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 €1.30

$2.23 MX$41.23

-34.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.47 MX$27.17

6.80%

Eggs

$3.39 €3.02

$2.53 MX$46.71

33.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.90 €10.58

$7.30 MX$135

63.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.31 €6.50

$7.86 MX$145

-7.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 €12.87

$12.79 MX$236

13.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.90 MX$53.6

-22.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.44 MX$26.53

-6.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$2.55 MX$47.07

-30.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.06 MX$38.03

24.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.00 MX$36.97

-9.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$2.01 MX$37.07

-4.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.19 MX$22.02

26.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 €0.70

$1.26 MX$23.23

-37.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.98 €5.32

$4.40 MX$81.4

35.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$9.59 MX$177

-53.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.59 MX$29.41

-23.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.81 MX$51.9

-25.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.57 MX$10.47

300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.98 €37.35

$27.82 MX$514

50.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.80 €3.38

$4.98 MX$92.1

-23.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.03

$3.50 MX$64.6

-67.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.40 €16.36

$5.40 MX$99.8

240.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.47 MX$27.08

40.82%

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

$33.9K €30.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

61.61%

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

$34.0K €30.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

42.26%

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

$120 €106

$84.2 MX$1,556

42.13%

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

$19.84 €17.65

$23.99 MX$443

-17.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.39 €32.36

$29.02 MX$536

25.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.12 €35.69

$63.0 MX$1,164

-36.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.69 €13.07

$29.14 MX$539

-49.59%

Cinema Ticket

$8.33 €7.41

$4.94 MX$91.3

68.62%

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

$419 €372

$204 MX$3,763

105.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

185.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.9 €70.2

$43.60 MX$806

80.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.89 €32.81

$43.12 MX$797

-14.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.4 €75.1

$75.8 MX$1,400

11.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 €93.0

$88.6 MX$1,637

18.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$944 €840

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-6.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$761 €676

$374 MX$6,911

103.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,546 €1,375

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-9.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,194 €1,062

$1,106 MX$20.4K

7.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,242 €2,884

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-17.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 €1,993

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-63.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$948 €843

$754 MX$13.9K

25.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

11.45

-67.95%

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

Last update for Silves: October 13, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Silves

$761 46.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 50.8% $387

Groceries & Markets

Silves

$244 15%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 5.7% $14

Eating Out

Silves

$194 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 4.4% $8.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Silves

$176 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 22% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Silves

$137 8.4%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 17.6% $24

Getting Around

Silves

$61 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 13.4% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Silves

$57 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 28.3% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $944 in Silves versus $1,008 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 26% higher in Silves, 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 $47.00 in Silves versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $244 in Silves vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Silves wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Silves

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:32 1:32 AM

19:32 7:32 PM

6 h behind Silves

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,776

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Silves Playa del Carmen 7,670 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Silves
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

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

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,444 per month in Silves and $1,816 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 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 $1,629 in Silves and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 35%.

Public transport costs about 51% 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 Silves at $1,629. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Silves 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, Silves makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.