Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mashhad, Iraq and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Mashhad: $756 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Mashhad
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Mashhad Living Index
57

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

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Mashhad

🇮🇶 Iraq

$756

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $756 in Mashhad versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Mashhad $756
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,119 in Mashhad versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Mashhad $1,119
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,481 in Mashhad versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Mashhad $1,481
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Mashhad costs roughly 37% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mashhad 44% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.49 IQD 6,781

$10.67 MX$199

-57.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.73 IQD 40.4K

$43.80 MX$815

-38.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.73 IQD 10.2K

$11.79 MX$219

-42.92%

Cappuccino

$2.71 IQD 4,100

$3.79 MX$70.5

-28.50%

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

$0.36 IQD 542

$1.30 MX$24.14

-72.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 IQD 302

$0.83 MX$15.51

-75.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 IQD 5,090

$3.15 MX$58.6

6.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 IQD 5,126

$4.93 MX$91.8

-31.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 IQD 1,368

$1.41 MX$26.22

-35.46%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 IQD 1,106

$2.20 MX$40.86

-66.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 IQD 1,997

$1.47 MX$27.40

-10.20%

Eggs

$0.82 IQD 1,242

$2.50 MX$46.46

-67.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.41 IQD 5,157

$7.29 MX$136

-53.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$1.98 IQD 2,985

$7.95 MX$148

-75.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$2.95 IQD 4,463

$12.86 MX$239

-77.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.03 IQD 1,556

$2.90 MX$53.9

-64.48%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 IQD 1,377

$1.38 MX$25.74

-34.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.87 IQD 1,321

$2.49 MX$46.35

-65.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 971

$2.03 MX$37.77

-68.47%

Potato (1kg)

$0.59 IQD 898

$2.02 MX$37.68

-70.79%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 IQD 840

$1.90 MX$35.42

-70.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.31 IQD 474

$1.14 MX$21.30

-72.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 IQD 321

$1.24 MX$23.05

-83.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$0.77 IQD 1,168

$4.27 MX$79.5

-81.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.82 IQD 17.9K

$9.81 MX$183

20.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 IQD 2,898

$1.59 MX$29.51

20.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 IQD 2,832

$2.75 MX$51.1

-32.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 IQD 520

$0.51 MX$9.58

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.96 IQD 2,965

$4.76 MX$88.6

-58.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 IQD 1,972

$3.25 MX$60.5

-59.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.42 IQD 9,699

$5.39 MX$100

19.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.54 IQD 810

$1.53 MX$28.44

-64.71%

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

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

-20.84%

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

$16.5K IQD 25.0M

$23.3K MX$432.9K

-28.97%

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

$191 IQD 288.5K

$83.5 MX$1,554

128.71%

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

$19.44 IQD 29.4K

$23.19 MX$431

-16.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.59 IQD 58.3K

$27.61 MX$514

39.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.79 IQD 55.6K

$56.4 MX$1,050

-34.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$9.69 IQD 14.6K

$5.00 MX$93.1

93.80%

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

$143 IQD 215.6K

$207 MX$3,854

-31.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,191 IQD 4.8M

$5,231 MX$97.3K

-39.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.57 IQD 38.6K

$43.45 MX$809

-41.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.03 IQD 51.4K

$42.54 MX$792

-20.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.7 IQD 88.8K

$72.8 MX$1,354

-19.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.44 IQD 64.1K

$88.4 MX$1,645

-51.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$212 IQD 319.9K

$995 MX$18.5K

-78.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$139 IQD 210.6K

$382 MX$7,116

-63.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$378 IQD 571.7K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-77.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$319 IQD 482.6K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-70.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$862 IQD 1.3M

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-77.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$491 IQD 742.5K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-91.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

11.45

-64.02%

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

Last update for Mashhad: October 31, 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

Mashhad

$249 32.9%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 46.1% $115

Accommodation & Living

Mashhad

$139 18.4%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 174% $243

Groceries & Markets

Mashhad

$115 15.2%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 124% $143

Eating Out

Mashhad

$115 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 74.9% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Mashhad

$72 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 53.7% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Mashhad

$56 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 18.3% $10

Getting Around

Mashhad

$9.9 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 411% $41

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $212 in Mashhad and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27 in Mashhad vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $115 vs $257 per month, with Mashhad cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Mashhad

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:36 10:36 AM

02:36 2:36 AM

8 h behind Mashhad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,694 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mashhad Playa del Carmen 11,850 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mashhad
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $756 in Mashhad and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Mashhad is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,134 in Mashhad and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $212 in Mashhad versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $143 in Mashhad versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mashhad – a meal for two runs $27 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $756 in Mashhad versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Mashhad but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Mashhad 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.