Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aswan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Aswan: $434 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Aswan
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Aswan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Aswan

🇪🇬 Egypt

$434

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $434 per month in Aswan vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Aswan $434
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $701 per month in Aswan vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Aswan $701
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $969 per month in Aswan vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Aswan $969
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Aswan is about 64% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Aswan and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Aswan 68% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 E£207

$10.86 MX$201

-64.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.90 E£796

$44.21 MX$817

-66.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.69 E£250

$11.76 MX$217

-60.12%

Cappuccino

$1.31 E£70.0

$3.68 MX$68.0

-64.40%

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

$0.30 E£15.98

$1.34 MX$24.79

-77.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£7.36

$0.82 MX$15.24

-82.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.30 E£69.2

$3.06 MX$56.6

-57.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 E£154

$4.94 MX$91.2

-41.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£46.25

$1.47 MX$27.17

-40.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 E£34.78

$2.22 MX$40.95

-70.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 E£31.05

$1.48 MX$27.32

-60.81%

Eggs

$1.20 E£64.2

$2.49 MX$45.99

-51.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.24 E£173

$7.52 MX$139

-56.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.08 E£218

$7.96 MX$147

-48.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 E£419

$12.57 MX$232

-37.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 E£78.3

$2.78 MX$51.3

-47.12%

Banana (1kg)

$0.67 E£35.88

$1.43 MX$26.37

-53.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.49 E£26.11

$2.62 MX$48.37

-81.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.35 E£18.89

$2.14 MX$39.49

-83.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.34 E£18.31

$2.02 MX$37.38

-83.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.33 E£17.85

$1.99 MX$36.74

-83.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 E£13.21

$1.14 MX$21.01

-78.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.17 E£8.83

$1.20 MX$22.18

-85.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.87 E£99.8

$4.26 MX$78.7

-56.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 E£338

$10.02 MX$185

-36.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 E£64.0

$1.54 MX$28.41

-22.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 E£107

$2.66 MX$49.17

-24.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 E£9.69

$0.53 MX$9.73

-66.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£21.12

$4.90 MX$90.6

-91.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.60

$3.43 MX$63.5

-93.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 E£63.8

$5.38 MX$99.4

-77.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£24.21

$1.45 MX$26.76

-68.97%

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

$31.9K E£1.7M

$21.2K MX$391.0K

50.71%

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

$25.1K E£1.3M

$23.0K MX$425.3K

8.84%

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

$15.10 E£806

$85.4 MX$1,577

-82.31%

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

$6.64 E£354

$23.46 MX$434

-71.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 E£703

$28.43 MX$525

-53.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.36 E£874

$62.2 MX$1,149

-73.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.78 E£255

$28.68 MX$530

-83.33%

Cinema Ticket

$2.93 E£157

$5.10 MX$94.3

-42.55%

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

$86.6 E£4,622

$201 MX$3,715

-56.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,865 E£99.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

-52.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.97 E£906

$44.39 MX$820

-61.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.04 E£2,405

$41.35 MX$764

8.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,132

$72.7 MX$1,344

57.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.8 E£2,982

$89.6 MX$1,656

-37.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 E£7,091

$979 MX$18.1K

-86.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.9 E£4,108

$373 MX$6,887

-79.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$253 E£13.5K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-84.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 E£7,713

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-86.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$767 E£40.9K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-80.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$347 E£18.5K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-94.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

11.45

41.57%

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

Last update for Aswan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Aswan

$118 27.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 118% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Aswan

$105 24.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 6.6% $6.9

Accommodation & Living

Aswan

$77 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 385% $296

Eating Out

Aswan

$75 17.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 168% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aswan

$35 8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 293% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Aswan

$22 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 226% $50

Getting Around

Aswan

$2.2 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 2239% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $133 in Aswan versus $979 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Aswan versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $118 vs $258 – making Aswan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Aswan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

05:50 5:50 AM

8 h behind Aswan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

241,261

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

Aswan Playa del Carmen 11,840 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Aswan
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 177%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $651 per month in Aswan and $1,806 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 Aswan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Aswan and $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 118% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Aswan, where all-in costs run around $434, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Aswan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Aswan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Aswan. 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.