Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Muharraq and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Muharraq: $1,083 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

52

Cost of Living Index in Al Muharraq
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Al Muharraq 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 Muharraq

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,083

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,083 in Al Muharraq versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Al Muharraq $1,083
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,615 in Al Muharraq versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Al Muharraq $1,615
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,147 in Al Muharraq versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Al Muharraq $2,147
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Al Muharraq costs roughly 10% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al Muharraq 20% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.58 BHD 0.96

$10.92 MX$205

-76.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.49 BHD 9.91

$43.37 MX$815

-38.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.98 BHD 2.24

$11.78 MX$221

-49.24%

Cappuccino

$3.87 BHD 1.45

$3.81 MX$71.6

1.57%

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

$0.82 BHD 0.31

$1.28 MX$24.10

-35.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 BHD 0.11

$0.78 MX$14.71

-61.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.66 BHD 2.49

$3.17 MX$59.5

110.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.75 BHD 2.53

$4.93 MX$92.7

36.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 BHD 0.51

$1.41 MX$26.43

-2.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 BHD 0.40

$2.22 MX$41.66

-51.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 BHD 0.89

$1.42 MX$26.64

66.90%

Eggs

$2.28 BHD 0.85

$2.52 MX$47.41

-9.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.76 BHD 1.41

$7.26 MX$137

-48.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 BHD 1.82

$7.70 MX$145

-36.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.74 BHD 3.27

$12.69 MX$239

-31.13%

Apples (1kg)

$1.08 BHD 0.40

$2.78 MX$52.3

-61.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 BHD 0.71

$1.37 MX$25.71

38.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.05 BHD 0.39

$2.55 MX$47.94

-58.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.39 BHD 0.52

$2.12 MX$39.90

-34.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 BHD 0.38

$1.94 MX$36.43

-48.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 BHD 0.19

$1.89 MX$35.44

-73.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 BHD 0.19

$1.15 MX$21.55

-55.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 BHD 0.20

$1.18 MX$22.16

-53.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.25 BHD 1.96

$4.30 MX$80.7

22.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.69 BHD 6.99

$9.95 MX$187

87.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.51 BHD 1.31

$1.58 MX$29.76

122.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 BHD 0.97

$2.67 MX$50.2

-3.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 BHD 1.94

$4.97 MX$93.4

4.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.29 BHD 0.48

$3.33 MX$62.6

-61.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.15 BHD 1.93

$5.36 MX$101

-3.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.56 BHD 0.21

$1.44 MX$27.14

-61.11%

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

$26.2K BHD 9,792

$20.7K MX$388.4K

26.70%

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

$19.5K BHD 7,296

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-16.86%

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

$155 BHD 57.9

$84.8 MX$1,594

82.49%

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

$21.39 BHD 8.00

$23.41 MX$440

-8.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.74 BHD 12.99

$28.66 MX$539

21.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$10.62 BHD 3.97

$5.14 MX$96.6

106.61%

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

$617 BHD 231

$207 MX$3,882

198.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K BHD 4,076

$3,927 MX$73.8K

177.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 BHD 19.04

$43.35 MX$815

17.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.1 BHD 21.71

$41.44 MX$779

40.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.6 BHD 32.78

$74.2 MX$1,394

18.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.2 BHD 33.35

$89.3 MX$1,677

-0.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$465 BHD 174

$980 MX$18.4K

-52.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 BHD 138

$381 MX$7,157

-3.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$993 BHD 372

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-41.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$733 BHD 274

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-31.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,011 BHD 752

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-49.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,563 BHD 585

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-74.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 BHD 660

$735 MX$13.8K

140.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.21

11.45

-45.76%

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

Last update for Al Muharraq: October 26, 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

Al Muharraq

$369 34%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 3.3% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Muharraq

$211 19.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 35.1% $74

Groceries & Markets

Al Muharraq

$205 19%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 24% $49

Eating Out

Al Muharraq

$136 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 48.4% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Al Muharraq

$129 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 13.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Al Muharraq

$21 * 2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 217% $46

Getting Around

Al Muharraq

$12 * 1.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 333% $39

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 $465 in Al Muharraq and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Muharraq pays about 2.4 times 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 Muharraq vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $205 vs $255 per month, with Al Muharraq cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇭 Al Muharraq

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:55 4:55 PM

08:55 8:55 AM

8 h behind Al Muharraq

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.4 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BHD – Bahraini Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇭 Bahraini Dinar (.د.ب)

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.417 BHD (1 BHD = 2.4 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to BHD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al Muharraq Playa del Carmen 13,090 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,083 in Al Muharraq and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Al Muharraq is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Al Muharraq is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $465 in Al Muharraq 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 24% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,083 per month in Al Muharraq versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Al Muharraq is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Al Muharraq gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.