Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabul and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabul: $504 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
Learn more

Kabul Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$504

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $504 in Kabul versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Kabul $504
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $683 in Kabul versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Kabul $683
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $862 in Kabul versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Kabul $862
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Kabul costs roughly 58% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kabul 63% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.70 ؋175

$10.92 MX$204

-75.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.75 ؋503

$43.37 MX$808

-82.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.68 ؋304

$11.78 MX$220

-60.27%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 ؋151

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ؋123

Cappuccino

$1.12 ؋72.4

$3.81 MX$71.0

-70.60%

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

$0.48 ؋31.20

$1.28 MX$23.90

-62.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 ؋8.66

$0.78 MX$14.59

-83.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 ؋53.3

$1.41 MX$26.22

-41.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 ؋16.30

$2.22 MX$41.33

-88.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 ؋116

$1.42 MX$26.42

26.06%

Eggs

$1.57 ؋102

$2.52 MX$47.03

-37.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.39 ؋285

$7.26 MX$135

-39.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.89 ؋252

$7.70 MX$143

-49.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.68 ؋434

$12.69 MX$237

-47.36%

Apples (1kg)

$0.68 ؋44.41

$2.78 MX$51.9

-75.54%

Banana (1kg)

$0.84 ؋54.7

$1.37 MX$25.50

-38.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 ؋61.3

$2.55 MX$47.55

-63.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.55 ؋35.88

$2.12 MX$39.58

-74.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 ؋39.33

$1.94 MX$36.13

-68.56%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 ؋30.95

$1.89 MX$35.16

-74.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 ؋19.61

$1.15 MX$21.37

-73.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 ؋25.52

$1.18 MX$21.98

-66.95%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 ؋117

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ؋48.44

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 ؋68.7

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 ؋158

$4.30 MX$80.1

-43.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 ؋10.14

$0.55 MX$10.31

-70.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.62 ؋1,339

$26.62 MX$496

-22.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 ؋132

$4.97 MX$92.6

-58.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 ؋31.24

$3.33 MX$62.1

-85.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.75 ؋178

$5.36 MX$99.8

-48.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ؋70.1

$1.44 MX$26.92

-25.00%

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

$8,581 ؋557.2K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

-58.48%

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

$33.9K ؋2.2M

$23.5K MX$437.4K

44.60%

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

$42.52 ؋2,761

$84.8 MX$1,581

-49.85%

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

$13.17 ؋855

$23.41 MX$436

-43.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$95.5 ؋6,201

$28.66 MX$534

233.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.01 ؋715

$57.1 MX$1,063

-80.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.01 ؋260

$28.91 MX$539

-86.13%

Cinema Ticket

$2.29 ؋149

$5.14 MX$95.8

-55.45%

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

$19.86 ؋1,290

$207 MX$3,851

-90.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,052 ؋68.3K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-73.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.53 ؋684

$43.35 MX$808

-75.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.26 ؋1,056

$41.44 MX$772

-60.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.5 ؋3,798

$74.2 MX$1,383

-21.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$24.87 ؋1,615

$89.3 MX$1,664

-72.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$122 ؋7,935

$980 MX$18.3K

-87.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$110 ؋7,173

$381 MX$7,099

-70.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 ؋14.3K

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-87.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$114 ؋7,434

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-89.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$669 ؋43.5K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-83.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$355 ؋23.0K

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-94.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$339 ؋22.0K

$735 MX$13.7K

-53.83%

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 Kabul: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabul

$151 30%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 9.5% $14

Accommodation & Living

Kabul

$110 21.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 245% $270

Groceries & Markets

Kabul

$101 19.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 154% $154

Eating Out

Kabul

$51 10.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 293% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Kabul

$50 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 125% $62

Getting Around

Kabul

$26 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 96.5% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Kabul

$16 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 332% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $122 in Kabul and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.2 times 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: $8 in Kabul vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $255 per month, with Kabul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇫 Kabul

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

18:02 6:02 PM

9 h 30 min behind Kabul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,289,000 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AFN – Afghanistan Afghani Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇫 Afghanistan Afghani (؋)

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 64.94 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.29 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to AFN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kabul Playa del Carmen 13,390 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Kabul
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $504 in Kabul and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Kabul is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 54% lower in Kabul. 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: $122 in Kabul versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kabul runs roughly 23% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $19.86 in Kabul versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $504 in Kabul versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kabul but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kabul 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 Kabul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.