Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Playa del Carmen

😐 Solo nomad: Dubai is 53% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 133.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Dubai is 50.7% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 90.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.73 AED 39.37

$11.85 MX$210

-9.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.2 AED 302

$42.16 MX$746

95.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.21

$10.75 MX$190

-13.30%

Cappuccino

$5.72 AED 21.01

$3.47 MX$61.5

64.84%

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

$1.23 AED 4.53

$1.45 MX$25.72

-15.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.43

$0.90 MX$15.98

4.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.21 AED 44.81

$3.05 MX$54.1

300.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.22

$4.42 MX$78.2

203.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 AED 7.37

$1.37 MX$24.24

46.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.87 MX$33.14

-26.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 AED 8.09

$1.54 MX$27.32

42.86%

Eggs

$3.37 AED 12.38

$2.50 MX$44.31

34.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 AED 37.09

$8.61 MX$152

17.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.49 AED 34.81

$8.63 MX$153

9.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.48 AED 45.78

$11.02 MX$195

13.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 AED 8.78

$2.75 MX$48.67

-13.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 AED 7.20

$1.43 MX$25.28

37.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 AED 6.84

$1.87 MX$33.15

-0.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 AED 5.49

$2.17 MX$38.37

-30.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 AED 4.34

$1.88 MX$33.33

-37.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 AED 4.78

$2.25 MX$39.76

-42.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$1.07 MX$18.90

33.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$1.07 MX$19.00

-35.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.68 AED 24.50

$4.15 MX$73.5

60.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.88 AED 69.3

$10.34 MX$183

82.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.68 MX$29.72

57.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 AED 12.59

$2.48 MX$43.97

38.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.86

$0.55 MX$9.82

190.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$81.0 AED 297

$26.53 MX$470

205.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 AED 11.80

$3.22 MX$56.9

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 AED 2.92

$2.48 MX$43.93

-67.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.28 AED 30.40

$3.11 MX$55.0

166.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.75 AED 2.75

$1.26 MX$22.22

-40.48%

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

$32.7K AED 120.0K

$30.7K MX$542.7K

6.62%

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

$22.4K AED 82.2K

$24.0K MX$425.5K

-6.83%

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

$215 AED 790

$82.5 MX$1,460

161.05%

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

$62.6 AED 230

$22.29 MX$394

180.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$103 AED 379

$30.02 MX$531

243.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$89.1 AED 327

$51.4 MX$911

73.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.01 AED 173

$18.29 MX$324

157.03%

Cinema Ticket

$15.14 AED 55.6

$4.98 MX$88.2

204.02%

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

$834 AED 3,062

$200 MX$3,540

317.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K AED 53.1K

$5,304 MX$93.9K

172.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.7 AED 307

$35.71 MX$632

134.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.5 AED 229

$39.56 MX$700

57.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 AED 411

$80.6 MX$1,426

39.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 AED 448

$88.3 MX$1,563

38.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,390 AED 8,769

$969 MX$17.2K

146.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,560 AED 5,726

$482 MX$8,535

223.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,546 AED 16.7K

$1,595 MX$28.2K

184.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,006 AED 11.0K

$1,184 MX$21.0K

153.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,269 AED 26.7K

$4,050 MX$71.7K

79.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,104 AED 15.1K

$6,522 MX$115.4K

-37.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,017 AED 14.7K

$756 MX$13.4K

431.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.49

11.42

-60.68%

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

Last update for Dubai: March 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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