Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vila Franca de Xira and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,615 in Vila Franca de Xira, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Vila Franca de Xira
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Vila Franca de Xira Living Index
58

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

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Vila Franca de Xira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,615

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,615 per month in Vila Franca de Xira vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vila Franca de Xira $1,615
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,351 per month in Vila Franca de Xira vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vila Franca de Xira $2,351
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,088 per month in Vila Franca de Xira vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vila Franca de Xira $3,088
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Vila Franca de Xira costs about 34% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Vila Franca de Xira 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

$13.61 €12.23

$10.92 MX$204

24.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.8 €51.1

$43.37 MX$810

31.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 €9.05

$11.78 MX$220

-14.52%

Cappuccino

$2.57 €2.31

$3.81 MX$71.2

-32.55%

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

$2.24 €2.01

$1.28 MX$23.96

75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.54

$0.78 MX$14.63

119.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 €3.03

$3.17 MX$59.2

6.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.52

$4.93 MX$92.2

-65.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 €0.92

$1.41 MX$26.28

-27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 €1.13

$2.22 MX$41.43

-43.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.42 MX$26.48

6.34%

Eggs

$3.93 €3.53

$2.52 MX$47.14

55.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.11 €11.78

$7.26 MX$136

80.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.38 €6.63

$7.70 MX$144

-4.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.86 €16.05

$12.69 MX$237

40.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.26

$2.78 MX$52.0

-9.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 €1.53

$1.37 MX$25.56

24.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 €1.49

$2.55 MX$47.66

-35.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$2.12 MX$39.67

15.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.94 MX$36.22

-6.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 €1.92

$1.89 MX$35.24

12.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.15 MX$21.42

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 €0.66

$1.18 MX$22.03

-38.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.86 €5.26

$4.30 MX$80.3

36.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.72 €5.14

$9.95 MX$186

-42.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.91

$1.58 MX$29.59

-36.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.36

$2.67 MX$49.91

-43.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 €2.06

$0.55 MX$10.34

316.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.15 €39.67

$26.62 MX$497

65.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 €3.23

$4.97 MX$92.9

-27.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 €0.95

$3.33 MX$62.2

-68.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.71 €15.01

$5.36 MX$100

211.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.03

$1.44 MX$26.98

56.94%

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

$33.9K €30.4K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

63.91%

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

$39.1K €35.2K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

66.80%

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

$126 €113

$84.8 MX$1,584

48.06%

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

$18.43 €16.56

$23.41 MX$437

-21.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.05 €29.69

$28.66 MX$535

15.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.28 €33.50

$57.1 MX$1,066

-34.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.23 €10.09

$28.91 MX$540

-61.16%

Cinema Ticket

$7.88 €7.08

$5.14 MX$96.0

53.31%

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

$553 €497

$207 MX$3,860

167.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K €11.9K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

237.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 €76.5

$43.35 MX$810

96.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.19 €39.70

$41.44 MX$774

6.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.3 €63.1

$74.2 MX$1,386

-5.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.7 €60.8

$89.3 MX$1,668

-24.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,101 €989

$980 MX$18.3K

12.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$736 €661

$381 MX$7,116

93.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,748 €1,570

$1,708 MX$31.9K

2.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,057 €949

$1,075 MX$20.1K

-1.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,519 €2,264

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-36.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,407 €2,163

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-60.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,524 €1,370

$735 MX$13.7K

107.55%

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 Vila Franca de Xira: October 25, 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

Vila Franca de Xira

$736 45.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 48.3% $355

Groceries & Markets

Vila Franca de Xira

$260 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 2% $5.3

Eating Out

Vila Franca de Xira

$206 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 1.8% $3.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vila Franca de Xira

$177 11%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 22.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Vila Franca de Xira

$120 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 7.1% $8.6

Getting Around

Vila Franca de Xira

$62 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 18.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Vila Franca de Xira

$53 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 26.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,101 in Vila Franca de Xira 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 in Vila Franca de Xira are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57 in Vila Franca de Xira versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Vila Franca de Xira

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:07 9:07 AM

04:07 4:07 AM

5 h behind Vila Franca de Xira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

137,540

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Vila Franca de Xira Playa del Carmen 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Vila Franca de Xira
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

Vila Franca de Xira vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Vila Franca de Xira is pricier by about 34%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,422 per month in Vila Franca de Xira and $1,806 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,101 in Vila Franca de Xira.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,615 in Vila Franca de Xira and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 34%.

Kindergarten costs $553 per month in Vila Franca de Xira 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 $1,204, than in Vila Franca de Xira at $1,615. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Vila Franca de Xira 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.

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