Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oued Zem and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Oued Zem: $751 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Oued Zem
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Oued Zem Living Index
58

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

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Oued Zem

🇲🇦 Morocco

$751

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $751 per month in Oued Zem vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Oued Zem $751
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,196 per month in Oued Zem vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Oued Zem $1,196
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,640 per month in Oued Zem vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Oued Zem $1,640
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Oued Zem is about 38% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Oued Zem and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Oued Zem 45% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.18 MAD 41.18

$10.92 MX$204

-61.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.10 MAD 405

$43.37 MX$808

-5.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.11 MAD 70.0

$11.78 MX$220

-39.64%

Cappuccino

$1.93 MAD 19.03

$3.81 MX$71.0

-49.34%

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

$0.57 MAD 5.59

$1.28 MX$23.90

-55.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MAD 3.58

$0.78 MX$14.59

-53.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 MAD 48.75

$3.17 MX$59.0

56.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 MAD 31.46

$4.93 MX$92.0

-35.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 MAD 8.05

$1.41 MX$26.22

-41.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 MAD 5.96

$2.22 MX$41.33

-72.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 MAD 18.21

$1.42 MX$26.42

30.28%

Eggs

$1.95 MAD 19.18

$2.52 MX$47.03

-22.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 MAD 111

$7.26 MX$135

54.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.67 MAD 65.7

$7.70 MX$143

-13.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.88 MAD 117

$12.69 MX$237

-6.38%

Apples (1kg)

$1.60 MAD 15.80

$2.78 MX$51.9

-42.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MAD 13.99

$1.37 MX$25.50

3.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.89 MAD 8.77

$2.55 MX$47.55

-65.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.82 MAD 8.08

$2.12 MX$39.58

-61.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 MAD 7.03

$1.94 MX$36.13

-63.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 MAD 7.74

$1.89 MX$35.16

-58.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.39 MAD 3.86

$1.15 MX$21.37

-66.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 MAD 5.97

$1.18 MX$21.98

-48.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 MAD 41.63

$4.30 MX$80.1

-1.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.23 MAD 71.2

$9.95 MX$185

-27.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 MAD 25.25

$1.58 MX$29.52

62.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 MAD 25.45

$2.67 MX$49.79

-3.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.50 MAD 4.95

$0.55 MX$10.31

-9.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.08 MAD 188

$26.62 MX$496

-28.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 MAD 7.19

$4.97 MX$92.6

-85.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 MAD 7.36

$3.33 MX$62.1

-77.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 MAD 38.95

$5.36 MX$99.8

-26.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MAD 14.77

$1.44 MX$26.92

4.17%

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

$29.9K MAD 294.5K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

44.68%

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

$32.7K MAD 322.5K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

39.56%

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

$36.51 MAD 360

$84.8 MX$1,581

-56.94%

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

$9.90 MAD 97.5

$23.41 MX$436

-57.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.95 MAD 334

$28.66 MX$534

18.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.75 MAD 224

$57.1 MX$1,063

-60.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 MAD 188

$28.91 MX$539

-33.93%

Cinema Ticket

$6.24 MAD 61.4

$5.14 MX$95.8

21.40%

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

$181 MAD 1,779

$207 MX$3,851

-12.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,550 MAD 94.1K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

143.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.28 MAD 466

$43.35 MX$808

9.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 MAD 387

$41.44 MX$772

-5.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 MAD 902

$74.2 MX$1,383

23.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.5 MAD 655

$89.3 MX$1,664

-25.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$314 MAD 3,096

$980 MX$18.3K

-67.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 MAD 1,824

$381 MX$7,099

-51.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$476 MAD 4,686

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-72.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 MAD 2,788

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-73.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,129 MAD 11.1K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-71.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$874 MAD 8,606

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-85.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$230 MAD 2,264

$735 MX$13.7K

-68.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

11.45

-60.26%

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

Last update for Oued Zem: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Oued Zem

$201 26.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 26.6% $53

Accommodation & Living

Oued Zem

$185 24.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 106% $196

Eating Out

Oued Zem

$113 15%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 79.3% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Oued Zem

$110 14.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 1.4% $1.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oued Zem

$80 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 70.3% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Oued Zem

$35 4.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 91.1% $32

Getting Around

Oued Zem

$26 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 97.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $314 in Oued Zem versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41 in Oued Zem versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $201 vs $255 – making Oued Zem the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Oued Zem

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:14 11:14 PM

18:14 6:14 PM

5 h behind Oued Zem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,267

149,923

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.15 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.85 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 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 MAD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Oued Zem Playa del Carmen 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Oued Zem
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $751 in Oued Zem, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Oued Zem comes out roughly 38% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,126 per month in Oued Zem and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Oued Zem, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $314 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $751 in Oued Zem and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Oued Zem about 38% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 28% less in Oued Zem. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Oued Zem, where all-in costs run around $751, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Oued Zem it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Oued Zem – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Oued Zem. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.