Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashkelon and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,394 in Ashkelon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ashkelon
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Ashkelon Living Index
59

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

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Ashkelon

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,394

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,394 in Ashkelon versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashkelon $2,394
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,551 in Ashkelon versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashkelon $3,551
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,708 in Ashkelon versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashkelon $4,708
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Ashkelon is roughly 98% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ashkelon is 77% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.07 ₪71.8

$10.76 MX$199

114.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.0 ₪252

$43.03 MX$795

88.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.60 ₪54.8

$11.79 MX$218

49.28%

Cappuccino

$4.58 ₪14.25

$3.87 MX$71.4

18.35%

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

$3.26 ₪10.15

$1.37 MX$25.29

137.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₪8.71

$0.84 MX$15.44

233.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.10 ₪37.63

$3.10 MX$57.3

290.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.69 ₪23.93

$5.07 MX$93.6

51.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.35 ₪7.32

$1.44 MX$26.55

63.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 ₪8.34

$2.23 MX$41.23

20.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.01 ₪9.35

$1.47 MX$27.17

104.76%

Eggs

$4.57 ₪14.21

$2.53 MX$46.71

80.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.56 ₪67.1

$7.30 MX$135

195.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.94 ₪40.26

$7.86 MX$145

64.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.38 ₪79.0

$12.79 MX$236

98.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 ₪12.86

$2.90 MX$53.6

42.41%

Banana (1kg)

$3.18 ₪9.91

$1.44 MX$26.53

120.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 ₪7.05

$2.55 MX$47.07

-10.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 ₪10.03

$2.06 MX$38.03

56.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 ₪4.99

$2.00 MX$36.97

-20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₪6.20

$2.01 MX$37.07

-1.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.66 ₪8.27

$1.19 MX$22.02

123.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 ₪2.93

$1.26 MX$23.23

-25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.77 ₪42.84

$4.40 MX$81.4

212.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.65 ₪36.23

$9.59 MX$177

21.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 ₪8.02

$1.59 MX$29.41

62.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₪6.12

$2.81 MX$51.9

-29.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.53 ₪7.88

$0.57 MX$10.47

343.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.33 ₪138

$27.82 MX$514

59.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.17 ₪34.76

$4.98 MX$92.1

124.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 ₪5.20

$3.50 MX$64.6

-52.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.23 ₪122

$5.40 MX$99.8

626.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.64 ₪8.20

$1.47 MX$27.08

79.59%

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

$57.8K ₪179.8K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

175.33%

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

$56.8K ₪176.7K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

137.63%

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

$214 ₪667

$84.2 MX$1,556

154.42%

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

$11.73 ₪36.49

$23.99 MX$443

-51.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.41 ₪129

$29.02 MX$536

42.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.93 ₪143

$63.0 MX$1,164

-27.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.25 ₪100

$29.14 MX$539

10.67%

Cinema Ticket

$16.56 ₪51.5

$4.94 MX$91.3

235.22%

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

$1,220 ₪3,797

$204 MX$3,763

499.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 ₪334

$43.60 MX$806

145.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.6 ₪235

$43.12 MX$797

75.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 ₪352

$75.8 MX$1,400

49.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 ₪453

$88.6 MX$1,637

64.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,144 ₪3,560

$1,008 MX$18.6K

13.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$961 ₪2,989

$374 MX$6,911

156.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,798 ₪5,595

$1,708 MX$31.6K

5.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 ₪4,575

$1,106 MX$20.4K

32.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,741 ₪17.9K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

45.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,602 ₪17.4K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-9.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,977 ₪9,263

$754 MX$13.9K

294.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.98

11.45

-56.51%

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

Last update for Ashkelon: October 11, 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

Ashkelon

$961 40.1%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 61.1% $587

Groceries & Markets

Ashkelon

$422 17.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 38.7% $163

Eating Out

Ashkelon

$392 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 48.5% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashkelon

$267 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 48.7% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Ashkelon

$199 8.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 43.1% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Ashkelon

$79 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 7.8% $6.2

Getting Around

Ashkelon

$74 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 29% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,144 in Ashkelon and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashkelon pays 295% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Ashkelon vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $422 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇱 Ashkelon

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:25 6:25 AM

22:25 10:25 PM

8 h behind Ashkelon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

152,439

149,923

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ILS – Israeli New Shekel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇱 Israeli New Shekel (₪)

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 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 ILS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ashkelon Playa del Carmen 11,510 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashkelon
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 98% lower than in Ashkelon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 295% higher in Ashkelon, 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: $1,144 in Ashkelon versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $81.0 in Ashkelon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,394 per month in Ashkelon versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 98% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,394 in Ashkelon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ashkelon. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ashkelon and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 98% less than in Ashkelon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.