Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hurghada and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $445 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
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Hurghada Living Index
58

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

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Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$445

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $445 per month in Hurghada vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Hurghada $445
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $932 per month in Hurghada vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Hurghada $932
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,419 per month in Hurghada vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Hurghada $1,419
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Hurghada is about 63% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Hurghada and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Hurghada 67% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.56 E£198

$10.92 MX$205

-67.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.24 E£2,131

$43.37 MX$815

-11.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.30 E£295

$11.78 MX$221

-55.01%

Cappuccino

$1.93 E£108

$3.81 MX$71.6

-49.34%

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

$0.45 E£25.14

$1.28 MX$24.10

-64.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.97

$0.78 MX$14.71

-76.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.75 E£97.7

$3.17 MX$59.5

-44.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 E£166

$4.93 MX$92.7

-39.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 E£49.34

$1.41 MX$26.43

-36.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 E£44.03

$2.22 MX$41.66

-64.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£33.65

$1.42 MX$26.64

-57.75%

Eggs

$1.79 E£100

$2.52 MX$47.41

-28.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.09 E£172

$7.26 MX$137

-57.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.49 E£306

$7.70 MX$145

-28.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.34 E£520

$12.69 MX$239

-26.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.38 E£76.9

$2.78 MX$52.3

-50.36%

Banana (1kg)

$0.50 E£27.86

$1.37 MX$25.71

-63.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£23.09

$2.55 MX$47.94

-83.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.40

$2.12 MX$39.90

-82.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.86

$1.94 MX$36.43

-83.51%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 E£19.47

$1.89 MX$35.44

-81.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.26 E£14.35

$1.15 MX$21.55

-77.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.17 E£9.22

$1.18 MX$22.16

-85.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.00 E£111

$4.30 MX$80.7

-53.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.36 E£410

$9.95 MX$187

-26.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 E£67.6

$1.58 MX$29.76

-23.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 E£91.7

$2.67 MX$50.2

-38.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.08 E£4.33

$0.55 MX$10.40

-85.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.22 E£291

$26.62 MX$500

-80.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.90 E£50.4

$4.97 MX$93.4

-81.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£11.01

$3.33 MX$62.6

-93.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.77 E£98.5

$5.36 MX$101

-66.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.39 E£21.79

$1.44 MX$27.14

-72.92%

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

$29.9K E£1.7M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

44.70%

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

$22.4K E£1.2M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-4.69%

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

$24.18 E£1,347

$84.8 MX$1,594

-71.48%

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

$7.63 E£425

$23.41 MX$440

-67.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.75 E£488

$28.66 MX$539

-69.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.47 E£1,475

$57.1 MX$1,072

-53.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.84 E£326

$28.91 MX$543

-79.80%

Cinema Ticket

$3.28 E£183

$5.14 MX$96.6

-36.19%

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

$99.3 E£5,534

$207 MX$3,882

-51.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$595 E£33.1K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

-84.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.80 E£1,047

$43.35 MX$815

-56.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.81 E£1,717

$41.44 MX$779

-25.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.42 E£1,472

$89.3 MX$1,677

-70.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$205 E£11.4K

$980 MX$18.4K

-79.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$111 E£6,205

$381 MX$7,157

-70.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$216 E£12.0K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-87.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$542 E£30.2K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-49.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$513 E£28.6K

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-86.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$572 E£31.9K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-90.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$141 E£7,830

$735 MX$13.8K

-80.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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

Last update for Hurghada: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Hurghada

$133 30%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 91.2% $122

Accommodation & Living

Hurghada

$111 25%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 242% $269

Eating Out

Hurghada

$85 19.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 139% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hurghada

$41 9.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 237% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Hurghada

$34 * 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 227% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Hurghada

$33 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 104% $34

Getting Around

Hurghada

$7.4 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 580% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $205 in Hurghada 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 5.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Hurghada versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $133 vs $255 – making Hurghada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

19:02 7:02 PM

7 h behind Hurghada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,901

149,923

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55.73 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.23 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hurghada Playa del Carmen 11,720 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Hurghada
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 171%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $667 per month in Hurghada 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 Hurghada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $205 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $445 in Hurghada and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Hurghada about 63% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 80% less in Hurghada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Hurghada, where all-in costs run around $445, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Hurghada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hurghada – 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 Hurghada. 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.