Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al `arish

For one person, living is cheaper in Al `arish: $427 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Al `arish
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Al `arish Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Al `arish

🇪🇬 Egypt

$427

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Al `arish

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Al `arish actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $427 in Al `arish.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Al `arish $427

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $684 in Al `arish.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Al `arish $684

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $940 in Al `arish.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Al `arish $940

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 181% more expensive than in Al `arish, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Al `arish 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.81 E£211

180.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$14.41 E£797

203.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.40 E£243

167.95%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.11 E£61.2

241.44%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.32 E£17.94

306.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.13 E£7.04

538.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.36 E£75.3

131.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.74 E£152

79.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.80 E£44.01

76.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.32 E£17.53

587.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.61 E£33.93

140.98%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.27 E£70.3

96.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$2.26 E£125

222.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.37 E£186

135.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$7.41 E£410

73.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.40 E£77.5

107.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.56 E£30.97

146.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.40 E£22.21

522.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.33 E£17.98

515.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.41 E£22.49

392.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.43 E£23.64

341.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.25 E£13.74

356.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.19 E£10.36

552.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$1.79 E£99.1

138.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$4.40 E£243

122.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.01 E£55.8

57.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.54 E£85.2

78.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.17 E£9.53

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.28 E£15.64

1600.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.37 E£20.51

778.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.15 E£63.6

368.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.40 E£22.08

282.50%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.9K E£1.7M

-28.97%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$23.4K E£1.3M

-0.40%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$14.23 E£787

486.72%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$6.74 E£372

244.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$23.26 E£1,286

18.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$15.12 E£836

273.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$3.62 E£200

38.12%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$79.4 E£4,388

160.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$2,230 E£123.3K

134.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$9.85 E£544

341.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$43.67 E£2,414

-2.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$149 E£8,211

-51.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$51.4 E£2,844

71.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$124 E£6,875

699.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$72.3 E£3,997

428.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$240 E£13.3K

596.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$137 E£7,569

689.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$713 E£39.4K

448.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$334 E£18.5K

1737.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

22.5

-49.11%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Al `arish: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Al `arish

$72 16.9% 81.1% $310

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Al `arish

$100 23.5% 61% $157

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Al `arish

$71 16.6% 64.5% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Al `arish

$44 10.4% 67.1% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Al `arish

$114 26.7% 2.5% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Al `arish

$22 5.2% 66.3% $44

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Al `arish

$2.8 * 0.7% 94.4% $48

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 $995 in Playa del Carmen and $124 in Al `arish. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $14 in Al `arish for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $100 per month, with Al `arish cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇬 Al `arish

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

02:29 2:29 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

199,243

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 55.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.83 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Al `arish 11,480 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al `arish

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

Playa del Carmen vs Al `arish: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al `arish wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Al `arish the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $641 in Al `arish 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $124 in Al `arish. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 156% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $427 in Al `arish – Al `arish is about 64% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $427 in Al `arish versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Al `arish but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Al `arish 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.