Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ait Melloul and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ait Melloul: $693 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Ait Melloul
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Ait Melloul Living Index
58

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

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Ait Melloul

🇲🇦 Morocco

$693

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $693 in Ait Melloul versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Ait Melloul $693
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,042 in Ait Melloul versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Ait Melloul $1,042
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,392 in Ait Melloul versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Ait Melloul $1,392
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Ait Melloul costs roughly 42% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ait Melloul 49% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 MAD 38.21

$10.92 MX$203

-64.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.49 MAD 251

$43.37 MX$807

-41.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.07 MAD 59.8

$11.78 MX$219

-48.47%

Cappuccino

$2.17 MAD 21.38

$3.81 MX$70.9

-43.04%

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

$0.88 MAD 8.63

$1.28 MX$23.87

-31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MAD 3.61

$0.78 MX$14.57

-52.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.18 MAD 51.0

$3.17 MX$59.0

63.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 MAD 43.18

$4.93 MX$91.9

-11.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 MAD 7.83

$1.41 MX$26.18

-43.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.50 MAD 4.91

$2.22 MX$41.27

-77.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MAD 14.63

$1.42 MX$26.38

4.93%

Eggs

$1.68 MAD 16.57

$2.52 MX$46.96

-33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.62 MAD 75.1

$7.26 MX$135

4.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 MAD 52.0

$7.70 MX$143

-31.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.44 MAD 113

$12.69 MX$236

-9.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 MAD 12.70

$2.78 MX$51.8

-53.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.13 MAD 11.12

$1.37 MX$25.47

-17.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.90 MAD 8.90

$2.55 MX$47.49

-64.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.77 MAD 7.63

$2.12 MX$39.52

-63.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 MAD 6.99

$1.94 MX$36.08

-63.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.75 MAD 7.42

$1.89 MX$35.11

-60.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 MAD 2.47

$1.15 MX$21.34

-78.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MAD 5.32

$1.18 MX$21.95

-54.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 MAD 40.59

$4.30 MX$80.0

-4.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.52 MAD 74.1

$9.95 MX$185

-24.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 MAD 22.64

$1.58 MX$29.48

45.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.36 MAD 33.08

$2.67 MX$49.72

25.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 MAD 4.13

$0.55 MX$10.30

-23.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.47 MAD 192

$26.62 MX$495

-26.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 MAD 6.31

$4.97 MX$92.5

-87.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 MAD 6.24

$3.33 MX$62.0

-81.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.15 MAD 70.5

$5.36 MX$99.7

33.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MAD 14.48

$1.44 MX$26.88

2.08%

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

$30.5K MAD 300.8K

$20.7K MX$384.7K

47.78%

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

$30.9K MAD 304.3K

$23.5K MX$436.8K

31.66%

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

$24.05 MAD 237

$84.8 MX$1,578

-71.64%

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

$8.97 MAD 88.4

$23.41 MX$436

-61.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.86 MAD 284

$28.66 MX$533

0.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.95 MAD 226

$57.1 MX$1,062

-59.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.46 MAD 231

$28.91 MX$538

-18.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MAD 50.7

$5.14 MX$95.7

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

$68.6 MAD 676

$207 MX$3,845

-66.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,845 MAD 18.2K

$3,927 MX$73.1K

-53.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.19 MAD 307

$43.35 MX$807

-28.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.82 MAD 432

$41.44 MX$771

5.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.7 MAD 568

$74.2 MX$1,381

-22.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.44 MAD 457

$89.3 MX$1,661

-47.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$284 MAD 2,798

$980 MX$18.2K

-71.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$203 MAD 2,000

$381 MX$7,089

-46.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 MAD 4,295

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-74.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 MAD 2,550

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-75.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,153 MAD 11.4K

$3,943 MX$73.4K

-70.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$812 MAD 8,000

$6,158 MX$114.6K

-86.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

11.45

-60.70%

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

Last update for Ait Melloul: 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

Ait Melloul

$203 29.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 87.6% $178

Groceries & Markets

Ait Melloul

$174 25.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 46.2% $81

Eating Out

Ait Melloul

$115 16.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 76.1% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Ait Melloul

$81 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 38.6% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ait Melloul

$62 8.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 121% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Ait Melloul

$33 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 103% $34

Getting Around

Ait Melloul

$25 3.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 102% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $284 in Ait Melloul and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $25 in Ait Melloul vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $174 vs $255 per month, with Ait Melloul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Ait Melloul

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

18:05 6:05 PM

5 h behind Ait Melloul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

171,847

149,923

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.15 USD

100 MAD = 9.11 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 9.85 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.98 MAD (100 MAD = 9.11 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 18.62 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ait Melloul Playa del Carmen 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ait Melloul
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

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

Ait Melloul is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. The 74% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,039 in Ait Melloul and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $284 in Ait Melloul versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $69 in Ait Melloul versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $693 in Ait Melloul versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ait Melloul but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ait Melloul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Ait Melloul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.