Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rass and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Ar-rass and in Playa del Carmen: $1,154 and $1,210 a month, rent and utilities included.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
Learn more

Ar-rass Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,154

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Ar-rass $1,154
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,690 in Ar-rass versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Ar-rass $1,690
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,226 in Ar-rass versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Ar-rass $2,226
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Ar-rass costs roughly 5% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ar-rass 15% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.12

$10.76 MX$199

-42.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.47 SAR 141

$43.03 MX$795

-12.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.65

$11.79 MX$218

-32.99%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

Cappuccino

$3.25 SAR 12.18

$3.87 MX$71.4

-16.02%

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

$0.91 SAR 3.41

$1.37 MX$25.29

-33.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$0.84 MX$15.44

-69.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

$1.44 MX$26.55

25.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 SAR 1.45

$2.23 MX$41.23

-82.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.19

$1.47 MX$27.17

30.61%

Eggs

$3.60 SAR 13.52

$2.53 MX$46.71

42.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 SAR 26.28

$7.30 MX$135

-4.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.05 SAR 30.20

$7.86 MX$145

2.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 SAR 47.99

$12.79 MX$236

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.41

$2.90 MX$53.6

-22.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$1.44 MX$26.53

22.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

$2.55 MX$47.07

-38.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.89

$2.06 MX$38.03

-23.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 SAR 4.37

$2.00 MX$36.97

-42.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$2.01 MX$37.07

-32.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.19 MX$22.02

7.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$1.26 MX$23.23

-54.76%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 SAR 12.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 SAR 7.46

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 SAR 8.49

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.27

$4.40 MX$81.4

71.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 SAR 3.69

$0.57 MX$10.47

71.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.39 SAR 129

$27.82 MX$514

23.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.72

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$3.50 MX$64.6

-46.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.84 SAR 44.42

$5.40 MX$99.8

119.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.47 MX$27.08

-55.78%

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

$43.1K SAR 161.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

105.40%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-12.77%

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

$110 SAR 414

$84.2 MX$1,556

30.95%

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

$23.87 SAR 89.6

$23.99 MX$443

-0.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 SAR 221

$29.02 MX$536

103.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.88 SAR 168

$63.0 MX$1,164

-28.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 SAR 50.4

$4.94 MX$91.3

171.86%

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

$425 SAR 1,595

$204 MX$3,763

108.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,688 SAR 32.6K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

120.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.84 SAR 161

$43.60 MX$806

-1.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 SAR 234

$43.12 MX$797

44.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 SAR 360

$75.8 MX$1,400

26.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 SAR 329

$88.6 MX$1,637

-1.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SAR 2,174

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-42.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 SAR 1,480

$374 MX$6,911

5.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 SAR 1,456

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-77.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 SAR 2,111

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-49.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,625 SAR 9,851

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-33.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,460

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-80.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 SAR 6,622

$754 MX$13.9K

134.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

11.45

-51.62%

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

Last update for Ar-rass: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rass

$394 34.2%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 5.2% $20

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rass

$198 17.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 30.7% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rass

$193 16.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 28.9% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rass

$130 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 13.1% $17

Eating Out

Ar-rass

$117 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 73.4% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rass

$72 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 1.6% $1.1

Getting Around

Ar-rass

$50 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 4.6% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Ar-rass and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ar-rass pays 134% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Ar-rass vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $258 per month, with Ar-rass cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:27 5:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

8 h behind Ar-rass

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,359

149,923

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ar-rass Playa del Carmen 12,590 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rass
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

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

Ar-rass and Playa del Carmen differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $1,210 including rent). Ar-rass is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 134% higher in Ar-rass, 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: $579 in Ar-rass versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Ar-rass versus $204 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 31% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rass but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rass 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 Ar-rass gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.