Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manama and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,561 in Manama, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,561 in Manama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Manama $1,561
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,442 in Manama versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Manama $2,442
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Manama versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Manama $3,323
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Manama is roughly 30% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Manama is 15% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.17 BHD 1.93

$10.92 MX$205

-52.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.4 BHD 19.97

$43.37 MX$815

23.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 BHD 2.70

$11.78 MX$221

-38.71%

Cappuccino

$5.01 BHD 1.88

$3.81 MX$71.6

31.50%

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

$0.88 BHD 0.33

$1.28 MX$24.10

-31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 BHD 0.12

$0.78 MX$14.71

-58.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.48 BHD 2.42

$3.17 MX$59.5

104.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.09 BHD 3.78

$4.93 MX$92.7

104.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 BHD 0.52

$1.41 MX$26.43

-1.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 BHD 0.39

$2.22 MX$41.66

-52.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BHD 0.87

$1.42 MX$26.64

64.08%

Eggs

$2.22 BHD 0.83

$2.52 MX$47.41

-11.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 BHD 3.22

$7.26 MX$137

18.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.58 BHD 2.46

$7.70 MX$145

-14.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.38 BHD 3.13

$12.69 MX$239

-33.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 BHD 0.89

$2.78 MX$52.3

-14.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 BHD 0.86

$1.37 MX$25.71

68.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 BHD 0.73

$2.55 MX$47.94

-23.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 BHD 0.52

$2.12 MX$39.90

-34.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 BHD 0.38

$1.94 MX$36.43

-47.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 BHD 0.51

$1.89 MX$35.44

-28.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 BHD 0.58

$1.15 MX$21.55

35.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 BHD 0.32

$1.18 MX$22.16

-28.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.26 BHD 1.97

$4.30 MX$80.7

22.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.18 BHD 6.80

$9.95 MX$187

82.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.63 BHD 1.36

$1.58 MX$29.76

129.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 BHD 1.00

$2.67 MX$50.2

-0.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 BHD 0.29

$0.55 MX$10.40

41.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.65 BHD 13.71

$26.62 MX$500

37.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 BHD 1.94

$4.97 MX$93.4

4.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 BHD 1.28

$3.33 MX$62.6

2.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 BHD 5.92

$5.36 MX$101

195.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.66 BHD 0.25

$1.44 MX$27.14

-54.17%

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

$25.9K BHD 9,671

$20.7K MX$388.4K

25.12%

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

$19.3K BHD 7,234

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-17.57%

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

$153 BHD 57.1

$84.8 MX$1,594

79.94%

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

$24.67 BHD 9.23

$23.41 MX$440

5.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.29 BHD 13.20

$28.66 MX$539

23.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 BHD 25.77

$57.1 MX$1,072

20.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.13 BHD 11.27

$28.91 MX$543

4.22%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 BHD 4.03

$5.14 MX$96.6

109.73%

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

$622 BHD 233

$207 MX$3,882

201.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K BHD 4,091

$3,927 MX$73.8K

178.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 BHD 18.74

$43.35 MX$815

15.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 BHD 21.71

$41.44 MX$779

40.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 BHD 33.32

$74.2 MX$1,394

20.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 BHD 33.16

$89.3 MX$1,677

-0.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,004 BHD 376

$980 MX$18.4K

2.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 BHD 239

$381 MX$7,157

67.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,052 BHD 767

$1,708 MX$32.1K

20.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,303 BHD 487

$1,075 MX$20.2K

21.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,590 BHD 969

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-34.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,974 BHD 738

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-67.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,384 BHD 892

$735 MX$13.8K

224.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.21

11.45

-45.76%

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

Last update for Manama: 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

Manama

$638 40.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 40.3% $257

Groceries & Markets

Manama

$249 16%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 2.4% $5.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manama

$213 13.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 35.6% $76

Eating Out

Manama

$181 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 12% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Manama

$129 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 13.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Manama

$90 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 25.6% $23

Getting Around

Manama

$62 4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 18.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,004 in Manama and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $53 in Manama vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $249 vs $255, with Manama cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇭 Manama

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

07:09 7:09 AM

23:09 11:09 PM

8 h behind Manama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,474 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.39 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BHD – Bahraini Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇭 Bahraini Dinar (.د.ب)

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.418 BHD (1 BHD = 2.39 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to BHD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Manama Playa del Carmen 13,090 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Manama
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Manama. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Manama is about 3.2 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: $1,004 in Manama 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 Playa del Carmen runs roughly 27% less than in Manama. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,561 per month in Manama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,561 in Manama, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Manama. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Manama on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.