Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lod and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,629 in Lod, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Lod
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Lod Living Index
58

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

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Lod

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,629

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,629 in Lod versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Lod $2,629
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,950 in Lod versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Lod $3,950
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,272 in Lod versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Lod $5,272
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Lod is roughly 118% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lod is 93% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.36 ₪73.3

$10.92 MX$205

113.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.5 ₪303

$43.37 MX$814

122.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.07 ₪59.9

$11.78 MX$221

61.88%

Cappuccino

$4.92 ₪15.44

$3.81 MX$71.5

29.13%

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

$3.61 ₪11.32

$1.28 MX$24.07

182.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 ₪9.00

$0.78 MX$14.70

267.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.97 ₪25.00

$3.17 MX$59.5

151.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.89 ₪31.03

$4.93 MX$92.7

100.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.41 ₪7.56

$1.41 MX$26.40

70.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.37 ₪10.57

$2.22 MX$41.62

51.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.55 ₪11.13

$1.42 MX$26.61

150.00%

Eggs

$4.91 ₪15.41

$2.52 MX$47.36

94.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.13 ₪53.8

$7.26 MX$136

135.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.34 ₪45.01

$7.70 MX$144

86.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.53 ₪80.1

$12.69 MX$238

101.18%

Apples (1kg)

$4.36 ₪13.68

$2.78 MX$52.3

56.83%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₪10.60

$1.37 MX$25.68

146.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 ₪7.57

$2.55 MX$47.89

-5.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.41 ₪7.57

$2.12 MX$39.86

13.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 ₪6.07

$1.94 MX$36.39

-0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 ₪5.17

$1.89 MX$35.41

-12.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.03 ₪6.36

$1.15 MX$21.53

76.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 ₪5.89

$1.18 MX$22.13

59.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.73 ₪43.09

$4.30 MX$80.6

219.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.39 ₪48.29

$9.95 MX$187

54.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.75 ₪11.76

$1.58 MX$29.73

137.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 ₪13.67

$2.67 MX$50.1

63.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.50 ₪7.84

$0.55 MX$10.39

354.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 ₪316

$26.62 MX$500

278.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 ₪12.26

$4.97 MX$93.3

-21.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 ₪3.57

$3.33 MX$62.5

-65.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.53 ₪61.3

$5.36 MX$101

264.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.55 ₪7.99

$1.44 MX$27.11

77.08%

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

$56.1K ₪176.0K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

171.42%

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

$55.0K ₪172.7K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

134.57%

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

$286 ₪896

$84.8 MX$1,592

236.73%

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

$11.47 ₪36.00

$23.41 MX$439

-51.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.47 ₪111

$28.66 MX$538

23.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$87.8 ₪276

$57.1 MX$1,071

53.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$15.01 ₪47.11

$5.14 MX$96.5

192.02%

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

$1,394 ₪4,374

$207 MX$3,878

574.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.1K ₪91.2K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

640.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$118 ₪370

$43.35 MX$814

171.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.4 ₪237

$41.44 MX$778

81.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$150 ₪471

$74.2 MX$1,393

102.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 ₪497

$89.3 MX$1,676

77.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,756 ₪5,509

$980 MX$18.4K

79.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$990 ₪3,108

$381 MX$7,150

160.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,241 ₪7,033

$1,708 MX$32.1K

31.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,642 ₪5,152

$1,075 MX$20.2K

52.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,169 ₪28.8K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

132.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,250 ₪25.9K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

33.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,548 ₪7,995

$735 MX$13.8K

246.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

11.45

-56.42%

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

Last update for Lod: October 25, 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

Lod

$990 37.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 61.5% $610

Groceries & Markets

Lod

$453 17.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 43.8% $198

Eating Out

Lod

$389 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 47.9% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lod

$332 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 58.8% $196

Clothing & Footwear

Lod

$226 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 50.5% $114

Getting Around

Lod

$120 4.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 58.1% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Lod

$118 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 42.9% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,756 in Lod and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lod pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $97 in Lod vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $453 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇱 Lod

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:17 12:17 PM

05:17 5:17 AM

7 h behind Lod

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,202

149,923

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.319 USD

1 ILS = 0.285 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ILS – Israeli New Shekel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇱 Israeli New Shekel (₪)

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.14 ILS (1 ILS = 0.319 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.285 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to ILS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lod Playa del Carmen 11,510 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Lod
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Lod is about 3.5 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: $1,756 in Lod versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,394 in Lod versus $207 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 78% higher in Lod. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,629 in Lod, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lod. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Lod. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.