Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rustaq: $953 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

46

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rustaq
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Ar-rustaq Living Index
58

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

Jump to prices

Ar-rustaq

🇴🇲 Oman

$953

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $953 per month in Ar-rustaq vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ar-rustaq $953
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,432 per month in Ar-rustaq vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ar-rustaq $1,432
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,910 per month in Ar-rustaq vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ar-rustaq $1,910
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Ar-rustaq is about 21% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Ar-rustaq and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Ar-rustaq 30% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.33 OMR 2.05

$10.92 MX$204

-51.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.16 OMR 15.08

$43.37 MX$808

-9.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.82 OMR 3.01

$11.78 MX$220

-33.62%

Cappuccino

$5.21 OMR 2.01

$3.81 MX$71.0

36.75%

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

$0.84 OMR 0.32

$1.28 MX$23.90

-34.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$0.78 MX$14.59

-65.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.78 OMR 4.92

$3.17 MX$59.0

303.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.19 OMR 5.08

$4.93 MX$92.0

167.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 OMR 0.92

$1.41 MX$26.22

69.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$2.22 MX$41.33

-45.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 OMR 0.75

$1.42 MX$26.42

37.32%

Eggs

$3.08 OMR 1.19

$2.52 MX$47.03

22.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 OMR 2.74

$7.26 MX$135

-2.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.96 OMR 2.68

$7.70 MX$143

-9.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.14 OMR 3.90

$12.69 MX$237

-20.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 OMR 1.35

$2.78 MX$51.9

26.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 OMR 0.78

$1.37 MX$25.50

48.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 OMR 0.92

$2.55 MX$47.55

-5.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$2.12 MX$39.58

-39.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 OMR 0.45

$1.94 MX$36.13

-39.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 OMR 0.47

$1.89 MX$35.16

-35.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 OMR 0.72

$1.15 MX$21.37

61.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 OMR 0.26

$1.18 MX$21.98

-42.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 OMR 2.56

$4.30 MX$80.1

54.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.55 OMR 5.99

$9.95 MX$185

56.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.85 OMR 2.25

$1.58 MX$29.52

270.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.05 OMR 3.87

$2.67 MX$49.79

276.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 OMR 1.25

$4.97 MX$92.6

-34.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.57 OMR 0.99

$3.33 MX$62.1

-22.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.03 OMR 3.09

$5.36 MX$99.8

49.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.59 OMR 0.23

$1.44 MX$26.92

-59.03%

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

$25.4K OMR 9,784

$20.7K MX$385.2K

22.97%

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

$20.9K OMR 8,060

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-10.78%

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

$177 OMR 68.3

$84.8 MX$1,581

109.12%

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

$30.29 OMR 11.66

$23.41 MX$436

29.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.6 OMR 27.58

$28.66 MX$534

149.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$10.25 OMR 3.95

$5.14 MX$95.8

99.42%

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

$508 OMR 196

$207 MX$3,851

145.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,030

$3,927 MX$73.2K

166.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.9 OMR 21.53

$43.35 MX$808

28.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.75 OMR 16.84

$41.44 MX$772

5.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.6 OMR 34.12

$74.2 MX$1,383

19.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.4 OMR 33.26

$89.3 MX$1,664

-3.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,358 OMR 1,678

$735 MX$13.7K

493.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

11.45

-54.15%

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

Last update for Ar-rustaq: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rustaq

$290 30.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 12.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rustaq

$279 29.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 51% $142

Eating Out

Ar-rustaq

$223 23.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 9.4% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rustaq

$124 13%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rustaq

$21 * 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 228% $47

Getting Around

Ar-rustaq

$16 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 214% $34

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rustaq

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries in Ar-rustaq are about 5.9 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39 in Ar-rustaq versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $290 in Ar-rustaq vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Ar-rustaq

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:46 9:46 PM

12:46 12:46 PM

9 h behind Ar-rustaq

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.429 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ar-rustaq Playa del Carmen 13,790 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 26%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,430 per month in Ar-rustaq and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $953 in Ar-rustaq and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 26%.

Kindergarten costs $508 per month in Ar-rustaq and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $953 in Ar-rustaq to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.