Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ismailia and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ismailia: $330 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

16

Cost of Living Index in Ismailia
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Ismailia Living Index
59

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

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Ismailia

🇪🇬 Egypt

$330

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $330 in Ismailia versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Ismailia $330
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $561 in Ismailia versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Ismailia $561
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $792 in Ismailia versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Ismailia $792
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Ismailia costs roughly 73% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ismailia 76% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.30 E£176

$10.86 MX$201

-69.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.58 E£778

$44.21 MX$817

-67.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.76 E£201

$11.76 MX$217

-68.03%

Cappuccino

$1.04 E£55.5

$3.68 MX$68.0

-71.74%

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

$0.30 E£15.91

$1.34 MX$24.79

-77.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£6.85

$0.82 MX$15.24

-84.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 E£70.6

$3.06 MX$56.6

-56.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 E£96.0

$4.94 MX$91.2

-63.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 E£42.30

$1.47 MX$27.17

-46.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.36 E£19.07

$2.22 MX$40.95

-83.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£32.12

$1.48 MX$27.32

-59.46%

Eggs

$1.15 E£61.5

$2.49 MX$45.99

-53.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.49 E£186

$7.52 MX$139

-53.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 E£213

$7.96 MX$147

-50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.95 E£371

$12.57 MX$232

-44.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 E£77.3

$2.78 MX$51.3

-47.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.54 E£29.05

$1.43 MX$26.37

-62.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£22.01

$2.62 MX$48.37

-84.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.31 E£16.79

$2.14 MX$39.49

-85.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£13.89

$2.02 MX$37.38

-87.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.12

$1.99 MX$36.74

-83.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.23 E£12.31

$1.14 MX$21.01

-79.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£10.67

$1.20 MX$22.18

-83.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.86 E£99.5

$4.26 MX$78.7

-56.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.48 E£293

$10.02 MX$185

-45.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 E£55.4

$1.54 MX$28.41

-32.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 E£101

$2.66 MX$49.17

-28.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 E£12.26

$0.53 MX$9.73

-56.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$3.77 E£201

$27.51 MX$508

-86.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£20.60

$4.90 MX$90.6

-92.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 E£25.72

$3.43 MX$63.5

-86.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 E£60.2

$5.38 MX$99.4

-79.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£22.18

$1.45 MX$26.76

-71.03%

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

$27.6K E£1.5M

$21.2K MX$391.0K

30.64%

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

$14.6K E£780.2K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-36.53%

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

$13.94 E£744

$85.4 MX$1,577

-83.67%

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

$6.66 E£355

$23.46 MX$434

-71.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.33 E£391

$28.43 MX$525

-74.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.65 E£515

$62.2 MX$1,149

-84.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 E£984

$28.68 MX$530

-35.77%

Cinema Ticket

$1.82 E£97.4

$5.10 MX$94.3

-64.31%

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

$65.6 E£3,502

$201 MX$3,715

-67.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,171 E£62.5K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

-70.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.92 E£690

$44.39 MX$820

-70.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.19 E£491

$41.35 MX$764

-77.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 E£6,764

$72.7 MX$1,344

74.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.53 E£1,470

$89.6 MX$1,656

-69.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$78.3 E£4,181

$979 MX$18.1K

-92.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$31.44 E£1,679

$373 MX$6,887

-91.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$120 E£6,414

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-92.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.2 E£4,017

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-93.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$458 E£24.5K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-88.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$131 E£6,984

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-97.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$101 E£5,387

$738 MX$13.6K

-86.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

11.45

86.29%

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

Last update for Ismailia: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ismailia

$108 32.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 139% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Ismailia

$79 24.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 40.7% $32

Eating Out

Ismailia

$62 18.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 223% $138

Accommodation & Living

Ismailia

$31 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 1086% $341

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ismailia

$28 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 392% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Ismailia

$13 4%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 444% $59

Getting Around

Ismailia

$7.5 2.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 591% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $78.3 in Ismailia and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 631% 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: $15.00 in Ismailia vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $108 vs $258 per month, with Ismailia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Ismailia

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:17 11:17 PM

15:17 3:17 PM

8 h behind Ismailia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

352,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ismailia Playa del Carmen 11,390 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ismailia
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

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

Ismailia wins on cost – living expenses run 265% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ismailia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 631% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $78.3 in Ismailia versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $65.6 in Ismailia versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 139% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $330 in Ismailia versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ismailia but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ismailia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ismailia delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $330 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ismailia hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ismailia and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ismailia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 265% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.