Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Jadida and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in El Jadida: $613 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in El Jadida
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El Jadida Living Index
58

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

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El Jadida

🇲🇦 Morocco

$613

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in El Jadida versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

El Jadida $613
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $921 in El Jadida versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

El Jadida $921
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,230 in El Jadida versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

El Jadida $1,230
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in El Jadida costs roughly 49% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: El Jadida 55% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.74 MAD 26.95

$10.92 MX$203

-74.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.55 MAD 202

$43.37 MX$808

-52.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.97 MAD 58.8

$11.78 MX$219

-49.32%

Cappuccino

$1.51 MAD 14.85

$3.81 MX$71.0

-60.37%

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

$0.42 MAD 4.11

$1.28 MX$23.89

-67.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MAD 2.97

$0.78 MX$14.58

-61.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 MAD 25.77

$3.17 MX$59.0

-17.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 MAD 24.70

$4.93 MX$91.9

-49.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 MAD 9.66

$1.41 MX$26.20

-30.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.36 MAD 3.58

$2.22 MX$41.30

-83.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 MAD 19.32

$1.42 MX$26.40

38.03%

Eggs

$1.88 MAD 18.54

$2.52 MX$47.00

-25.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.26 MAD 61.6

$7.26 MX$135

-13.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.02 MAD 39.59

$7.70 MX$143

-47.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.50 MAD 73.8

$12.69 MX$236

-40.90%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 MAD 14.84

$2.78 MX$51.9

-45.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 MAD 13.83

$1.37 MX$25.49

2.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.65 MAD 6.36

$2.55 MX$47.52

-74.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 MAD 6.27

$2.12 MX$39.55

-69.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 MAD 6.65

$1.94 MX$36.11

-64.95%

Onion (1kg)

$0.50 MAD 4.94

$1.89 MX$35.13

-73.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 MAD 2.92

$1.15 MX$21.36

-73.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 MAD 5.04

$1.18 MX$21.96

-56.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.76 MAD 37.00

$4.30 MX$80.0

-12.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.97 MAD 39.04

$9.95 MX$185

-60.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 MAD 24.39

$1.58 MX$29.50

56.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 MAD 27.82

$2.67 MX$49.76

5.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 MAD 4.38

$0.55 MX$10.31

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.98 MAD 157

$26.62 MX$496

-39.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.04 MAD 10.20

$4.97 MX$92.6

-79.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 MAD 10.24

$3.33 MX$62.1

-68.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 MAD 48.77

$5.36 MX$99.8

-7.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MAD 14.60

$1.44 MX$26.90

2.78%

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

$33.7K MAD 331.9K

$20.7K MX$385.0K

63.20%

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

$29.7K MAD 292.8K

$23.5K MX$437.2K

26.78%

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

$28.15 MAD 277

$84.8 MX$1,580

-66.80%

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

$9.90 MAD 97.4

$23.41 MX$436

-57.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.58 MAD 301

$28.66 MX$534

6.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.51 MAD 271

$57.1 MX$1,063

-51.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.73 MAD 115

$28.91 MX$539

-59.43%

Cinema Ticket

$6.25 MAD 61.5

$5.14 MX$95.7

21.60%

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

$111 MAD 1,093

$207 MX$3,848

-46.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,097 MAD 30.5K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-21.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.67 MAD 263

$43.35 MX$808

-38.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.40 MAD 348

$41.44 MX$772

-14.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.3 MAD 633

$74.2 MX$1,382

-13.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 MAD 672

$89.3 MX$1,663

-23.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 MAD 1,996

$980 MX$18.2K

-79.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 MAD 1,628

$381 MX$7,095

-56.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$361 MAD 3,556

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-78.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$226 MAD 2,221

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-79.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,544 MAD 15.2K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-60.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$774 MAD 7,621

$6,158 MX$114.7K

-87.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$460 MAD 4,523

$735 MX$13.7K

-37.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

11.45

-51.97%

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

Last update for El Jadida: 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

El Jadida

$165 27%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 130% $215

Groceries & Markets

El Jadida

$148 24.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 71.8% $106

Clothing & Footwear

El Jadida

$88 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 27.6% $24

Eating Out

El Jadida

$79 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 156% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Jadida

$69 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 99.4% $68

Sport & Entertainment

El Jadida

$40 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 68.2% $27

Getting Around

El Jadida

$24 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 110% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $203 in El Jadida and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 60% 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: $21 in El Jadida vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $148 vs $255 per month, with El Jadida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 El Jadida

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:56 1:56 AM

20:56 8:56 PM

5 h behind El Jadida

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

237,464

149,923

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.16 USD

100 MAD = 9.13 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.84 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.13 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

El Jadida Playa del Carmen 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

El Jadida
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

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

El Jadida wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making El Jadida the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 37% lower in El Jadida. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $203 in El Jadida 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 72% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in El Jadida – a meal for two runs $21 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $613 in El Jadida versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in El Jadida but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes El Jadida the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find El Jadida gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.