Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al-Buraimi

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-Buraimi: $916 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Al-Buraimi
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Al-Buraimi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Al-Buraimi

🇴🇲 Oman

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $916 in Al-Buraimi.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Al-Buraimi $916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,357 in Al-Buraimi.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Al-Buraimi $1,357

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,797 in Al-Buraimi.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Al-Buraimi $1,797

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 32% more expensive than in Al-Buraimi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Al-Buraimi 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$5.27 OMR 2.03

104.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$13.14 OMR 5.06

227.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.82 OMR 3.01

50.77%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$5.02 OMR 1.93

-22.91%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.91 OMR 0.35

50.55%

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

$12.89 OMR 4.96

-75.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$13.20 OMR 5.08

-61.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.26 OMR 0.87

-36.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.20 OMR 0.46

85.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.58 OMR 0.61

-6.96%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.99 OMR 1.15

-15.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$6.33 OMR 2.44

15.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$5.79 OMR 2.23

35.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.31 OMR 3.58

37.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.07 OMR 0.80

40.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.83 OMR 0.70

-21.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.06 OMR 0.79

23.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.32 OMR 0.51

56.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.20 OMR 0.46

66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.98 OMR 0.38

105.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.91 OMR 0.35

30.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.70 OMR 0.27

80.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$5.23 OMR 2.01

-15.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$15.32 OMR 5.90

-37.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$5.82 OMR 2.24

-72.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$10.15 OMR 3.91

-72.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$38.94 OMR 14.99

-28.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$3.28 OMR 1.26

51.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.33 OMR 0.51

163.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$7.57 OMR 2.92

-28.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.60 OMR 0.23

145.00%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$25.2K OMR 9,711

-16.80%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$22.7K OMR 8,734

5.38%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$77.5 OMR 29.84

8.66%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$30.24 OMR 11.64

-20.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$70.7 OMR 27.23

-58.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$63.9 OMR 24.62

-1.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.67 OMR 2.95

-35.59%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$260 OMR 100

-21.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.5K OMR 4,036

-62.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$56.8 OMR 21.86

-23.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$43.55 OMR 16.77

-0.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$90.9 OMR 35.01

-16.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$88.7 OMR 34.13

-0.07%

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

$3,620 OMR 1,394

-79.17%

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-Buraimi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Al-Buraimi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Al-Buraimi

$262 28.7% 1.6% $4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Al-Buraimi

$221 24.2% 9.5% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Al-Buraimi

$178 19.5% 30.1% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Al-Buraimi

$126 13.7% 11.5% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Al-Buraimi

$79 8.7% 8.8% $6.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Al-Buraimi

$49 * 5.3% 7% $3.7

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

Cost Breakdown

Al-Buraimi pays 380% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $13.00 in Al-Buraimi. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $262, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇴🇲 Al-Buraimi

🕒 Local time

23:27 11:27 PM

08:27 8:27 AM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

73,670

💱 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-Buraimi 13,610 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al-Buraimi

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-Buraimi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Buraimi is cheaper overall, especially in transport. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 380% lower in Al-Buraimi. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

A monthly transit pass in Al-Buraimi runs roughly 40% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $260 in Al-Buraimi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Buraimi but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Buraimi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Buraimi is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Al-Buraimi are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Al-Buraimi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.