Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Byblos and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Byblos: $1,007 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Byblos
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Byblos Living Index
58

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

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Byblos

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,007

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,007 in Byblos versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Byblos $1,007
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,618 in Byblos versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Byblos $1,618
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,229 in Byblos versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Byblos $2,229
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Byblos costs roughly 16% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Byblos 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.05 LBP 809.9K

$10.92 MX$205

-17.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.63 LBP 3.8M

$43.37 MX$814

-1.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.97 LBP 623.5K

$11.78 MX$221

-40.83%

Cappuccino

$2.92 LBP 261.5K

$3.81 MX$71.5

-23.36%

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

$0.98 LBP 87.5K

$1.28 MX$24.07

-23.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 LBP 87.8K

$0.78 MX$14.70

25.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 LBP 108.1K

$1.41 MX$26.40

-14.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.63 LBP 56.3K

$2.22 MX$41.62

-71.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 LBP 143.9K

$1.42 MX$26.61

13.38%

Eggs

$2.14 LBP 191.7K

$2.52 MX$47.36

-15.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 LBP 801.6K

$7.26 MX$136

23.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.26 LBP 739.4K

$7.70 MX$144

7.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.94 LBP 1.1M

$12.69 MX$238

-5.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 LBP 270.4K

$2.78 MX$52.3

8.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 LBP 176.6K

$1.37 MX$25.68

43.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 LBP 91.5K

$2.55 MX$47.89

-60.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 LBP 174.3K

$2.12 MX$39.86

-8.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 LBP 91.7K

$1.94 MX$36.39

-47.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 LBP 88.3K

$1.89 MX$35.41

-47.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 LBP 87.0K

$1.15 MX$21.53

-15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 LBP 86.9K

$1.18 MX$22.13

-17.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

Wine (Bottle)

$3.91 LBP 350.3K

$9.95 MX$187

-60.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 LBP 138.5K

$1.58 MX$29.73

-1.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 LBP 174.1K

$2.67 MX$50.1

-26.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 LBP 88.3K

$0.55 MX$10.39

80.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 LBP 90.9K

$3.33 MX$62.5

-69.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 LBP 82.5K

$1.44 MX$27.11

-36.11%

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

$22.1K LBP 2.0B

$20.7K MX$388.0K

7.08%

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

$22.5K LBP 2.0B

$23.5K MX$440.5K

-4.03%

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

$99.8 LBP 8.9M

$84.8 MX$1,592

17.70%

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

$22.87 LBP 2.0M

$23.41 MX$439

-2.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.64 LBP 2.2M

$28.66 MX$538

-14.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.05 LBP 3.3M

$57.1 MX$1,071

-35.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.44 LBP 3.6M

$28.91 MX$543

39.88%

Cinema Ticket

$9.86 LBP 882.3K

$5.14 MX$96.5

91.83%

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

$398 LBP 35.6M

$207 MX$3,878

92.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,941 LBP 263.2M

$3,927 MX$73.7K

-25.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 LBP 9.0M

$43.35 MX$814

132.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$100 LBP 9.0M

$41.44 MX$778

142.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 LBP 10.9M

$74.2 MX$1,393

64.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 LBP 13.3M

$89.3 MX$1,676

66.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$300 LBP 26.9M

$980 MX$18.4K

-69.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$227 LBP 20.3M

$381 MX$7,150

-40.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 LBP 72.0M

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-52.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 LBP 36.4M

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-62.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,354 LBP 121.2M

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-65.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$827 LBP 74.0M

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-86.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,017 LBP 91.0M

$735 MX$13.8K

38.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-30.13%

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

Last update for Byblos: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Byblos

$227 22.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 67.8% $154

Groceries & Markets

Byblos

$218 21.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 16.8% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Byblos

$213 21.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 47.4% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Byblos

$147 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 7.1% $10

Eating Out

Byblos

$136 * 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 48.6% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Byblos

$57 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 18.6% $11

Getting Around

Byblos

$9 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 459% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $300 in Byblos and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Byblos pays 38% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Byblos vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $218 vs $255 per month, with Byblos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Byblos

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:41 3:41 PM

08:41 8:41 AM

7 h behind Byblos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,784

149,923

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD

100,000 LBP = 1 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 99,933 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to LBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Byblos Playa del Carmen 11,430 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Byblos
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

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

Byblos is about 16% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 38% higher in Byblos, 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: $300 in Byblos versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Childcare runs $398 in Byblos versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Byblos gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.