Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $611 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $611 per month in Cairo vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Cairo $611
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $970 per month in Cairo vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Cairo $970
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Cairo vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Cairo $1,329
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Cairo is about 49% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 55% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 E£252

$10.92 MX$205

-58.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 E£1,511

$43.37 MX$814

-37.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.34 E£299

$11.78 MX$221

-54.67%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£96.0

$3.81 MX$71.5

-54.86%

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

$0.34 E£19.06

$1.28 MX$24.07

-73.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£8.08

$0.78 MX$14.70

-82.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£77.8

$3.17 MX$59.5

-56.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£120

$4.93 MX$92.7

-56.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.56

$1.41 MX$26.40

-38.30%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£42.45

$2.22 MX$41.62

-65.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£35.10

$1.42 MX$26.61

-55.63%

Eggs

$1.09 E£60.9

$2.52 MX$47.36

-56.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.74 E£209

$7.26 MX$136

-48.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 E£258

$7.70 MX$144

-40.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 E£471

$12.69 MX$238

-33.65%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 E£94.4

$2.78 MX$52.3

-39.21%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 E£38.19

$1.37 MX$25.68

-50.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£31.12

$2.55 MX$47.89

-78.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 E£26.17

$2.12 MX$39.86

-77.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£21.53

$1.94 MX$36.39

-80.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.81

$1.89 MX$35.41

-79.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£18.73

$1.15 MX$21.53

-71.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.32

$1.18 MX$22.13

-81.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£104

$4.30 MX$80.6

-56.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 E£405

$9.95 MX$187

-27.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 E£79.3

$1.58 MX$29.73

-10.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 E£111

$2.67 MX$50.1

-25.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 E£17.31

$0.55 MX$10.39

-43.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 E£401

$26.62 MX$500

-73.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 E£19.46

$4.97 MX$93.3

-92.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.87

$3.33 MX$62.5

-94.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 E£81.5

$5.36 MX$101

-72.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.40 E£22.36

$1.44 MX$27.11

-72.22%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

56.38%

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

$24.9K E£1.4M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

5.91%

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

$26.70 E£1,494

$84.8 MX$1,592

-68.51%

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

$7.51 E£420

$23.41 MX$439

-67.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.02 E£785

$28.66 MX$538

-51.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 E£1,511

$57.1 MX$1,071

-52.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 E£400

$28.91 MX$543

-75.27%

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 E£247

$5.14 MX$96.5

-14.20%

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

$117 E£6,524

$207 MX$3,878

-43.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,269 E£182.9K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

-16.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.71 E£2,110

$43.35 MX$814

-13.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 E£2,664

$41.44 MX$778

14.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£6,108

$74.2 MX$1,393

47.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 E£3,113

$89.3 MX$1,676

-37.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 E£11.4K

$980 MX$18.4K

-79.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 E£10.5K

$381 MX$7,150

-50.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 E£29.3K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-69.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 E£17.8K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-70.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$793 E£44.4K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-79.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$484 E£27.1K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-92.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 E£10.3K

$735 MX$13.8K

-74.85%

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 Cairo: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$188 30.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 103% $193

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$131 21.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 94.2% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$113 18.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 0.7% $0.8

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 136% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 184% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 87.9% $31

Getting Around

Cairo

$9.7 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 419% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $203 in Cairo versus $980 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.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $131 vs $255 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:49 9:49 PM

14:49 2:49 PM

7 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 55.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.47 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

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

USD to EGP in detail →

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Between locations

Cairo Playa del Carmen 11,340 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $917 per month in Cairo 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 Cairo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $203 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 94% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $611, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cairo – 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 Cairo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.