Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $462 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index
59

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

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Alexandria

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $462 per month in Alexandria vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Alexandria $462
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $766 per month in Alexandria vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Alexandria $766
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,071 per month in Alexandria vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Alexandria $1,071
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Alexandria is about 62% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Alexandria and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Alexandria 66% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.28 E£228

$10.76 MX$199

-60.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.29 E£1,030

$43.03 MX$795

-55.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 E£261

$11.79 MX$218

-58.52%

Cappuccino

$1.26 E£67.5

$3.87 MX$71.4

-67.44%

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

$0.33 E£17.37

$1.37 MX$25.29

-75.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£7.07

$0.84 MX$15.44

-84.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.31 E£70.1

$3.10 MX$57.3

-57.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 E£153

$5.07 MX$93.6

-43.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.83 E£44.32

$1.44 MX$26.55

-42.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 E£38.67

$2.23 MX$41.23

-67.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.64 E£34.04

$1.47 MX$27.17

-56.46%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$2.53 MX$46.71

-52.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.79 E£203

$7.30 MX$135

-48.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$7.86 MX$145

-44.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.12 E£487

$12.79 MX$236

-28.69%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 E£79.9

$2.90 MX$53.6

-48.28%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£40.12

$1.44 MX$26.53

-47.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.52 E£27.98

$2.55 MX$47.07

-79.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.35 E£18.80

$2.06 MX$38.03

-83.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£13.90

$2.00 MX$36.97

-87.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.32

$2.01 MX$37.07

-84.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 E£13.28

$1.19 MX$22.02

-78.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.37

$1.26 MX$23.23

-83.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£98.6

$4.40 MX$81.4

-57.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.58 E£298

$9.59 MX$177

-41.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 E£64.3

$1.59 MX$29.41

-24.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£120

$2.81 MX$51.9

-20.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 E£9.02

$0.57 MX$10.47

-70.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.24 E£600

$27.82 MX$514

-59.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 E£31.72

$4.98 MX$92.1

-88.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 E£26.63

$3.50 MX$64.6

-85.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 E£61.1

$5.40 MX$99.8

-78.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£23.17

$1.47 MX$27.08

-70.75%

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

$32.4K E£1.7M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

54.31%

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

$27.3K E£1.5M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

14.25%

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

$14.01 E£748

$84.2 MX$1,556

-83.36%

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

$6.87 E£367

$23.99 MX$443

-71.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.44 E£718

$29.02 MX$536

-53.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.05 E£697

$63.0 MX$1,164

-79.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.37 E£394

$29.14 MX$539

-74.71%

Cinema Ticket

$2.84 E£151

$4.94 MX$91.3

-42.51%

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

$86.5 E£4,621

$204 MX$3,763

-57.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,100 E£112.2K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

-46.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.83 E£1,807

$43.60 MX$806

-22.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.92 E£2,398

$43.12 MX$797

4.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 E£6,881

$75.8 MX$1,400

70.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.0 E£2,993

$88.6 MX$1,637

-36.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$136 E£7,240

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-86.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$71.5 E£3,816

$374 MX$6,911

-80.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$292 E£15.6K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-82.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 E£7,828

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-86.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$695 E£37.1K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-82.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$448 E£23.9K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-92.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$141 E£7,546

$754 MX$13.9K

-81.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

11.45

86.29%

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

Last update for Alexandria: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$126 27.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 106% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$119 25.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 4.8% $5.7

Eating Out

Alexandria

$78 16.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 159% $124

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

$71 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 423% $303

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$34 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 300% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$19 4.1%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 289% $54

Getting Around

Alexandria

$15 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 250% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $136 in Alexandria 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 434% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $19.00 in Alexandria versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $126 vs $258 – making Alexandria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Alexandria

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:16 9:16 AM

01:16 1:16 AM

8 h behind Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,546,231

149,923

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

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 EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria Playa del Carmen 11,160 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 162% more than Alexandria, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $693 per month in Alexandria 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 Alexandria, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $86.5 per month in Alexandria and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 106% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Alexandria, where all-in costs run around $462, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Alexandria it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Alexandria costs $462 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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