Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Khost and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Khost: $403 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Khost
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Khost Living Index
57

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

Jump to prices

Khost

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$403

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $403 in Khost versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Khost $403
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $593 in Khost versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Khost $593
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $783 in Khost versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Khost $783
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Khost costs roughly 66% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Khost 70% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.70 ؋175

$10.67 MX$199

-74.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.50 ؋487

$43.80 MX$815

-82.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.71 ؋306

$11.79 MX$219

-60.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 ؋152

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ؋122

Cappuccino

$1.11 ؋72.3

$3.79 MX$70.5

-70.71%

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

$0.49 ؋32.02

$1.30 MX$24.14

-62.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ؋10.36

$0.83 MX$15.51

-80.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 ؋53.1

$1.41 MX$26.22

-41.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 ؋16.29

$2.20 MX$40.86

-88.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ؋117

$1.47 MX$27.40

22.45%

Eggs

$1.56 ؋101

$2.50 MX$46.47

-37.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.46 ؋290

$7.29 MX$136

-38.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.94 ؋256

$7.95 MX$148

-50.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.59 ؋429

$12.86 MX$239

-48.76%

Apples (1kg)

$0.68 ؋43.99

$2.90 MX$53.9

-76.55%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 ؋58.0

$1.38 MX$25.74

-35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 ؋60.9

$2.49 MX$46.36

-62.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 ؋33.60

$2.03 MX$37.78

-74.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ؋42.28

$2.02 MX$37.69

-67.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ؋30.69

$1.90 MX$35.42

-75.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.28 ؋18.12

$1.14 MX$21.30

-75.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 ؋23.76

$1.24 MX$23.06

-70.16%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.87 ؋121

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ؋51.0

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ؋68.1

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.41 ؋156

$4.27 MX$79.5

-43.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ؋31.18

$0.51 MX$9.58

-5.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.31 ؋1,190

$27.39 MX$510

-33.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 ؋52.4

$4.76 MX$88.6

-82.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 ؋29.16

$3.25 MX$60.5

-86.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 ؋148

$5.39 MX$100

-57.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ؋70.5

$1.53 MX$28.44

-29.41%

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

$8,337 ؋541.9K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

-60.70%

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

$33.8K ؋2.2M

$23.3K MX$432.9K

45.35%

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

$42.02 ؋2,732

$83.5 MX$1,554

-49.67%

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

$13.11 ؋852

$23.19 MX$431

-43.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$95.6 ؋6,217

$27.61 MX$514

246.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$7.79 ؋506

$56.4 MX$1,050

-86.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.29 ؋409

$28.19 MX$525

-77.69%

Cinema Ticket

$2.27 ؋148

$5.00 MX$93.1

-54.60%

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

$20.48 ؋1,331

$207 MX$3,854

-90.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,034 ؋67.2K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

-80.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.84 ؋705

$43.45 MX$809

-75.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.86 ؋1,031

$42.54 MX$792

-62.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.4 ؋3,734

$72.8 MX$1,354

-21.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.23 ؋1,640

$88.4 MX$1,645

-71.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$31.24 ؋2,030

$995 MX$18.5K

-96.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$15.55 ؋1,011

$382 MX$7,116

-95.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$77.3 ؋5,026

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-95.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$46.16 ؋3,000

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-95.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$188 ؋12.2K

$832 MX$15.5K

-77.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-12.66%

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

Last update for Khost: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Khost

$151 37.4%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 10.9% $16

Groceries & Markets

Khost

$100 24.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 156% $157

Eating Out

Khost

$52 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 288% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Khost

$49 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 126% $62

Getting Around

Khost

$23 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 117% $27

Accommodation & Living

Khost

$16 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 2359% $367

Sport & Entertainment

Khost

$12 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 439% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $31 in Khost and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $7 in Khost vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $100 vs $257 per month, with Khost cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇫 Khost

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

18:35 6:35 PM

9 h 30 min behind Khost

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,987

149,923

💱 Currency

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.37 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 65 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 73.17 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to AFN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Khost Playa del Carmen 13,540 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Khost
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

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

Khost is about 66% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Khost. 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: $31 in Khost versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Khost – a meal for two runs $7 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $403 per month in Khost versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Khost is about 66% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $403 in Khost versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Khost but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Khost 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 Khost gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.