Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-hawiyah: $1,085 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Al-hawiyah
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Al-hawiyah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Al-hawiyah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,085

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,085 in Al-hawiyah.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Al-hawiyah $1,085

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,593 in Al-hawiyah.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Al-hawiyah $1,593

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,102 in Al-hawiyah.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Al-hawiyah $2,102

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 11% more expensive than in Al-hawiyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Al-hawiyah 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.43 SAR 16.64

146.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$26.60 SAR 99.8

63.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.71 SAR 25.16

75.56%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 SAR 5.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 SAR 5.88

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.62 SAR 9.83

45.42%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.67 SAR 2.52

91.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.25 SAR 0.94

212.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.89 SAR 7.11

-25.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.95 SAR 3.57

133.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.18 SAR 8.17

-34.86%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.67 SAR 10.01

-5.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$6.07 SAR 22.79

19.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$11.68 SAR 43.82

-34.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$13.06 SAR 49.00

-2.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.02 SAR 7.57

37.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.61 SAR 6.05

-14.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.75 SAR 6.57

45.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.48 SAR 5.56

43.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.35 SAR 5.08

43.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.49 SAR 5.60

26.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.05 SAR 3.94

9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.72 SAR 2.72

63.89%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.89 SAR 10.84

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 SAR 7.84

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.87

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$7.79 SAR 29.24

-44.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.07 SAR 4.02

-48.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$36.32 SAR 136

-26.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.37 SAR 8.89

109.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.60 SAR 9.77

28.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$13.11 SAR 49.18

-59.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.60 SAR 2.27

140.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$26.1K SAR 98.1K

-20.93%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$21.9K SAR 82.1K

7.27%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$66.6 SAR 250

27.39%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$34.33 SAR 129

-31.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$63.0 SAR 236

-54.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$79.6 SAR 299

-28.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$15.31 SAR 57.5

-66.43%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$415 SAR 1,557

-50.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,915 SAR 29.7K

-50.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$13.44 SAR 50.4

222.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$54.1 SAR 203

-23.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$40.33 SAR 151

83.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$52.8 SAR 198

69.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$584 SAR 2,193

67.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$374 SAR 1,404

1.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$802 SAR 3,010

112.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$560 SAR 2,103

91.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,311 SAR 8,673

70.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,373 SAR 5,153

348.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 25, 2026

Last update for Al-hawiyah: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Al-hawiyah

$374 34.5% 1.7% $6.6

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Al-hawiyah

$218 20.1% 14.5% $37

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Al-hawiyah

$91 8.4% 55.2% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Al-hawiyah

$164 15.1% 19.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Al-hawiyah

$72 6.7% 35.3% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Al-hawiyah

$110 10.2% 63.8% $43

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Al-hawiyah

$56 5.2% 11% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $584 in Al-hawiyah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $27 in Al-hawiyah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $218 per month, with Al-hawiyah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Al-hawiyah

🕒 Local time

08:06 8:06 AM

16:06 4:06 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

148,151

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Al-hawiyah 12,650 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al-hawiyah

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-hawiyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Al-hawiyah differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,085 including rent). Al-hawiyah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,628 in Al-hawiyah 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $584 in Al-hawiyah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Al-hawiyah – a meal for two runs $27 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,085 in Al-hawiyah – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Al-hawiyah gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.