Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al-`awabi

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-`awabi: $953 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Al-`awabi
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Al-`awabi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Al-`awabi

🇴🇲 Oman

$953

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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-`awabi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $953 in Al-`awabi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Al-`awabi $953

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,431 in Al-`awabi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Al-`awabi $1,431

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,909 in Al-`awabi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Al-`awabi $1,909

Playa del Carmen costs about 27% more than Al-`awabi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Al-`awabi are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Al-`awabi 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$5.06 OMR 1.95

112.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$38.93 OMR 14.99

10.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.61 OMR 2.93

54.93%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$5.06 OMR 1.95

-23.52%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.89 OMR 0.34

53.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.27 OMR 0.10

211.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$12.94 OMR 4.98

-76.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$13.19 OMR 5.08

-61.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.27 OMR 0.87

-36.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.23 OMR 0.47

81.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.88 OMR 0.72

-21.81%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.96 OMR 1.14

-14.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.29 OMR 2.81

0.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.17 OMR 2.76

9.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$10.59 OMR 4.08

20.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.56 OMR 1.37

-18.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.92 OMR 0.74

-25.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.33 OMR 0.90

9.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.28 OMR 0.49

60.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.22 OMR 0.47

63.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.25 OMR 0.48

60.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.87 OMR 0.72

-36.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.66 OMR 0.25

90.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.41 OMR 2.47

-31.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$15.72 OMR 6.05

-38.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$6.06 OMR 2.33

-73.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$10.33 OMR 3.98

-72.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.29 OMR 1.27

51.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.55 OMR 0.98

37.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$7.72 OMR 2.97

-30.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.65 OMR 0.25

126.15%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$25.4K OMR 9,791

-17.48%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$23.0K OMR 8,858

3.91%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$177 OMR 68.2

-52.46%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$31.35 OMR 12.07

-23.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$71.0 OMR 27.33

-59.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$10.34 OMR 3.98

-52.22%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$286 OMR 110

-28.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.5K OMR 4,032

-62.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$55.6 OMR 21.42

-21.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$43.72 OMR 16.83

-1.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$90.5 OMR 34.83

-16.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$86.8 OMR 33.41

2.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.25

118.10%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Al-`awabi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Al-`awabi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Al-`awabi

$293 30.7% 13.3% $34

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Al-`awabi

$220 23.1% 8.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Al-`awabi

$279 29.3% 104% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Al-`awabi

$124 13.1% 10.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Al-`awabi

$21 * 2.2% 71.6% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Al-`awabi

$16 * 1.7% 69.5% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $39.00 in Al-`awabi. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $293 in Al-`awabi – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇴🇲 Al-`awabi

🕒 Local time

02:40 2:40 AM

11:40 11:40 AM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

10,711

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Al-`awabi 13,800 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al-`awabi

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-`awabi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 27%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,430 in Al-`awabi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $953 in Al-`awabi. That's a gap of about 27%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $286 in Al-`awabi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Al-`awabi, where all-in costs run around $953, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Al-`awabi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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