Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jubail and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jubail: $1,100 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Jubail
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Jubail Living Index
58

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

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Jubail

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,100

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,100 in Jubail versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Jubail $1,100
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,720 in Jubail versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Jubail $1,720
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,339 in Jubail versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Jubail $2,339
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Jubail costs roughly 9% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jubail 19% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.82 SAR 25.60

$10.92 MX$203

-37.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.32 SAR 148

$43.37 MX$808

-9.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.07 SAR 34.03

$11.78 MX$219

-23.01%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 SAR 7.21

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.59

Cappuccino

$3.99 SAR 14.97

$3.81 MX$71.0

4.72%

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

$1.00 SAR 3.74

$1.28 MX$23.89

-21.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 SAR 1.06

$0.78 MX$14.58

-64.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 SAR 5.61

$1.41 MX$26.20

6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 SAR 5.45

$2.22 MX$41.30

-34.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.09

$1.42 MX$26.40

14.08%

Eggs

$2.06 SAR 7.74

$2.52 MX$47.00

-18.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.82 SAR 36.85

$7.26 MX$135

35.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.44 SAR 24.16

$7.70 MX$143

-16.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.15 SAR 45.57

$12.69 MX$236

-4.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.39

$2.78 MX$51.9

-19.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$1.37 MX$25.49

28.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 SAR 5.87

$2.55 MX$47.52

-38.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.34

$2.12 MX$39.55

-20.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 SAR 4.85

$1.94 MX$36.11

-33.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 SAR 5.25

$1.89 MX$35.13

-25.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.75 SAR 6.56

$1.15 MX$21.36

52.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 SAR 2.04

$1.18 MX$21.96

-54.24%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.00 SAR 11.27

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 SAR 8.21

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 SAR 7.63

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 SAR 24.90

$4.30 MX$80.0

54.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 SAR 4.91

$0.55 MX$10.31

138.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.90 SAR 89.7

$26.62 MX$496

-10.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 SAR 12.21

$4.97 MX$92.6

-34.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 SAR 10.27

$3.33 MX$62.1

-17.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.54 SAR 50.8

$5.36 MX$99.8

152.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.61 SAR 2.27

$1.44 MX$26.90

-57.64%

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

$26.8K SAR 100.5K

$20.7K MX$385.0K

29.61%

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

$21.7K SAR 81.3K

$23.5K MX$437.2K

-7.60%

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

$80.1 SAR 301

$84.8 MX$1,580

-5.51%

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

$27.36 SAR 103

$23.41 MX$436

16.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.1 SAR 248

$28.66 MX$534

130.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$104 SAR 391

$57.1 MX$1,063

82.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.93 SAR 150

$28.91 MX$539

38.12%

Cinema Ticket

$13.58 SAR 50.9

$5.14 MX$95.7

164.20%

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

$178 SAR 667

$207 MX$3,848

-13.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,690 SAR 28.8K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

95.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.14 SAR 158

$43.35 MX$808

-2.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 SAR 222

$41.44 MX$772

43.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 SAR 300

$74.2 MX$1,382

7.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.6 SAR 325

$89.3 MX$1,663

-3.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$424 SAR 1,591

$980 MX$18.2K

-56.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$295 SAR 1,105

$381 MX$7,095

-22.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$667 SAR 2,502

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-60.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 SAR 1,950

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-51.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,743 SAR 10.3K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-30.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,396 SAR 5,238

$6,158 MX$114.7K

-77.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,605 SAR 6,021

$735 MX$13.7K

118.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.62

11.45

-50.92%

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

Last update for Jubail: October 26, 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

Jubail

$295 26.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 29.3% $86

Groceries & Markets

Jubail

$199 18.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 28% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jubail

$174 15.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 21.2% $37

Eating Out

Jubail

$135 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 50.1% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Jubail

$131 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 48.7% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Jubail

$121 11%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 7.4% $8.9

Getting Around

Jubail

$46 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 9.5% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $424 in Jubail and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jubail pays about 2.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39 in Jubail vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $255 per month, with Jubail cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Jubail

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:56 4:56 AM

20:56 8:56 PM

8 h behind Jubail

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

337,778

149,923

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.267 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.267 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 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 SAR in detail →

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Between locations

Jubail Playa del Carmen 12,960 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Jubail
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

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

Jubail wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Jubail the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Jubail is about 2.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $424 in Jubail versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,100 per month in Jubail versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Jubail is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Jubail runs roughly 10% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Jubail is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Jubail gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.