Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Kufah and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kufah: $703 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Al Kufah
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Al Kufah Living Index
58

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

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Al Kufah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$703

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $703 in Al Kufah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Al Kufah $703
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,050 in Al Kufah versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Al Kufah $1,050
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,397 in Al Kufah versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Al Kufah $1,397
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Al Kufah costs roughly 42% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al Kufah 48% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.74 IQD 7,162

$10.92 MX$205

-56.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.90 IQD 39.1K

$43.37 MX$814

-40.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

$11.78 MX$221

-43.72%

Cappuccino

$2.82 IQD 4,258

$3.81 MX$71.5

-25.98%

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

$0.38 IQD 579

$1.28 MX$24.07

-70.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 IQD 302

$0.78 MX$14.70

-74.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 IQD 4,844

$3.17 MX$59.5

1.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 IQD 4,897

$4.93 MX$92.7

-34.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 IQD 1,451

$1.41 MX$26.40

-31.91%

White Bread (500g)

$0.69 IQD 1,041

$2.22 MX$41.62

-68.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 IQD 1,989

$1.42 MX$26.61

-7.04%

Eggs

$1.70 IQD 2,574

$2.52 MX$47.36

-32.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.02 IQD 3,046

$7.26 MX$136

-72.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.99 IQD 6,032

$7.70 MX$144

-48.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 IQD 11.9K

$12.69 MX$238

-38.14%

Apples (1kg)

$0.63 IQD 954

$2.78 MX$52.3

-77.34%

Banana (1kg)

$0.96 IQD 1,449

$1.37 MX$25.68

-29.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 IQD 848

$2.55 MX$47.89

-78.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.49 IQD 736

$2.12 MX$39.86

-76.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.43 IQD 650

$1.94 MX$36.39

-77.84%

Onion (1kg)

$0.33 IQD 499

$1.89 MX$35.41

-82.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.19 IQD 284

$1.15 MX$21.53

-83.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 IQD 776

$1.18 MX$22.13

-56.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.53 IQD 2,319

$4.30 MX$80.6

-64.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.59 IQD 17.5K

$9.95 MX$187

16.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 IQD 3,017

$1.58 MX$29.73

26.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 IQD 2,972

$2.67 MX$50.1

-26.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 IQD 480

$0.55 MX$10.39

-41.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.95 IQD 2,954

$4.97 MX$93.3

-60.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 IQD 2,031

$3.33 MX$62.5

-59.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.52 IQD 9,849

$5.36 MX$101

21.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 IQD 733

$1.44 MX$27.11

-65.97%

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

$16.6K IQD 25.0M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

-19.89%

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

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

-28.42%

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

$188 IQD 283.3K

$84.8 MX$1,592

121.15%

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

$19.15 IQD 28.9K

$23.41 MX$439

-18.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.76 IQD 29.9K

$28.66 MX$538

-31.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.05 IQD 22.7K

$57.1 MX$1,071

-73.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$9.64 IQD 14.6K

$5.14 MX$96.5

87.55%

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

$69.3 IQD 104.8K

$207 MX$3,878

-66.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 IQD 3.3M

$3,927 MX$73.7K

-44.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.13 IQD 15.3K

$43.35 MX$814

-76.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.46 IQD 44.5K

$41.44 MX$778

-28.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.07 IQD 30.3K

$74.2 MX$1,393

-72.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$34.57 IQD 52.2K

$89.3 MX$1,676

-61.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$208 IQD 313.5K

$980 MX$18.4K

-78.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$135 IQD 204.6K

$381 MX$7,150

-64.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$371 IQD 561.3K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-78.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 466.6K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-71.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,244 IQD 1.9M

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-68.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$495 IQD 748.2K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-91.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$902 IQD 1.4M

$735 MX$13.8K

22.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

11.45

-64.02%

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

Last update for Al Kufah: 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.

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Kufah

$226 32.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 39.6% $90

Groceries & Markets

Al Kufah

$138 19.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 85.1% $117

Accommodation & Living

Al Kufah

$135 19.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 181% $245

Eating Out

Al Kufah

$116 16.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 73.8% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Al Kufah

$42 6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 163% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Al Kufah

$34 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 96.2% $33

Getting Around

Al Kufah

$10 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 407% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $208 in Al Kufah and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Kufah pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $26 in Al Kufah vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $138 vs $255 per month, with Al Kufah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Al Kufah

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:55 4:55 PM

08:55 8:55 AM

8 h behind Al Kufah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

230,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,687 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR).

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 IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al Kufah Playa del Carmen 12,210 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Al Kufah
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

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

Al Kufah is about 42% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Al Kufah, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $208 in Al Kufah versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 85% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $703 per month in Al Kufah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Al Kufah is about 42% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $703 in Al Kufah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al Kufah but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Al Kufah 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.