Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al Jubayhah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Jubayhah: $1,014 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Al Jubayhah
🇯🇴 Jordan
$1,014
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,014 in Al Jubayhah, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Al Jubayhah $1,014

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,610 in Al Jubayhah, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,102
  • Al Jubayhah $1,610

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,206 in Al Jubayhah, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $3,000
  • Al Jubayhah $2,206

Playa del Carmen costs about 19% more than Al Jubayhah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Al Jubayhah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Al Jubayhah 25% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.86 MX$201
$7.23 JOD 5.12
50.21%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.21 MX$817
$69.9 JOD 49.45
-36.71%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.76 MX$217
$7.19 JOD 5.09
63.56%
Cappuccino
$3.68 MX$68.0
$4.32 JOD 3.06
-14.81%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.34 MX$24.79
$0.50 JOD 0.35
168.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.82 MX$15.24
$0.47 JOD 0.33
74.47%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.06 MX$56.6
$6.26 JOD 4.43
-51.12%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.94 MX$91.2
$7.14 JOD 5.06
-30.81%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.47 MX$27.17
$1.64 JOD 1.16
-10.37%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$40.95
$0.71 JOD 0.50
212.68%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.48 MX$27.32
$1.57 JOD 1.11
-5.73%
Eggs
$2.49 MX$45.99
$2.40 JOD 1.70
3.75%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.52 MX$139
$9.17 JOD 6.49
-17.99%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.96 MX$147
$4.14 JOD 2.93
92.27%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.57 MX$232
$12.46 JOD 8.82
0.88%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$51.3
$2.64 JOD 1.87
5.30%
Banana (1kg)
$1.43 MX$26.37
$2.07 JOD 1.47
-30.92%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.62 MX$48.37
$1.79 JOD 1.26
46.37%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 MX$39.49
$0.79 JOD 0.56
170.89%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 MX$37.38
$0.95 JOD 0.67
112.63%
Onion (1kg)
$1.99 MX$36.74
$0.86 JOD 0.61
131.40%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.14 MX$21.01
$0.65 JOD 0.46
75.38%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.20 MX$22.18
$0.66 JOD 0.47
81.82%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.26 MX$78.7
$3.99 JOD 2.82
6.77%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.02 MX$185
$20.97 JOD 14.85
-52.22%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 MX$28.41
$5.10 JOD 3.61
-69.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.66 MX$49.17
$4.87 JOD 3.45
-45.38%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.53 MX$9.73
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.51 MX$508
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.90 MX$90.6
$0.59 JOD 0.42
730.51%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.43 MX$63.5
$1.38 JOD 0.97
148.55%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.38 MX$99.4
$7.14 JOD 5.06
-24.65%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.45 MX$26.76
$1.70 JOD 1.20
-14.71%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$391.0K
$35.4K JOD 25.1K
-40.31%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.0K MX$425.3K
$34.5K JOD 24.5K
-33.36%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$85.4 MX$1,577
$130 JOD 91.8
-34.18%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.46 MX$434
$15.84 JOD 11.21
48.11%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.43 MX$525
$31.59 JOD 22.37
-10.00%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$62.2 MX$1,149
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.68 MX$530
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.10 MX$94.3
$11.12 JOD 7.87
-54.14%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$201 MX$3,715
$493 JOD 349
-59.20%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,947 MX$72.9K
$9,588 JOD 6,788
-58.83%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.39 MX$820
$62.8 JOD 44.47
-29.33%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.35 MX$764
$82.0 JOD 58.0
-49.55%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$72.7 MX$1,344
$124 JOD 87.8
-41.34%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.6 MX$1,656
$85.3 JOD 60.4
5.05%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$979 MX$18.1K
$286 JOD 203
241.88%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$373 MX$6,887
$214 JOD 151
74.36%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,681 MX$31.1K
$390 JOD 276
331.27%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,095 MX$20.2K
$346 JOD 245
216.15%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,949 MX$73.0K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,137 MX$113.4K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Al Jubayhah
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$738 MX$13.6K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
6.81
68.14%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Al Jubayhah: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$373
Al Jubayhah
$214 42.7% $159
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$258
Al Jubayhah
$254 1.7% $4.5
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$200
Al Jubayhah
$181 9.8% $20
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Al Jubayhah
$177 29.1% $40
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Al Jubayhah
$159 42.7% $48
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$72
Al Jubayhah
$22 * 69.3% $50
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$52
Al Jubayhah
$7.5 * 85.5% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $286 in Al Jubayhah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $70.0 in Al Jubayhah. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $254 in Al Jubayhah – so Al Jubayhah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇯🇴 Al Jubayhah
🕒 Local time
06:42 6:42 AM
14:42 2:42 PM
8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
46,834
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

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).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Al Jubayhah 11,590 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Al Jubayhah

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 Jubayhah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Playa del Carmen or Al Jubayhah?
Playa del Carmen costs about 19% more than Al Jubayhah, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Playa del Carmen and in Al Jubayhah?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,522 in Al Jubayhah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Playa del Carmen or Al Jubayhah?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Jubayhah, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
How do dining costs compare in Playa del Carmen and in Al Jubayhah?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $70.0 in Al Jubayhah. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Are groceries more expensive in Playa del Carmen or in Al Jubayhah?
Groceries cost about 2% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Playa del Carmen or in Al Jubayhah?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al Jubayhah, where all-in costs run around $1,014, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Al Jubayhah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Playa del Carmen or Al Jubayhah?
For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Al Jubayhah costs $1,014 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.
How safe is Playa del Carmen compared to Al Jubayhah?
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.
Should I move to Playa del Carmen or to Al Jubayhah?
If budget matters most, go with Al Jubayhah. 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.

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