Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al Kharijah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kharijah: $407 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Al Kharijah, Egypt
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,202
/mo nomad
Al Kharijah
🇪🇬 Egypt
$407
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $407 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,202
  • Al Kharijah $407

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $658 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Al Kharijah $658

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $909 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,962
  • Al Kharijah $909

Playa del Carmen costs about 196% more than Al Kharijah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Al Kharijah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Al Kharijah 70% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.67 MX$201
$3.61 E£200
195.57%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.80 MX$824
$14.18 E£784
208.89%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.79 MX$222
$4.32 E£239
172.92%
Cappuccino
$3.79 MX$71.2
$1.17 E£64.9
223.93%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.30 MX$24.41
$0.28 E£15.32
364.29%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83 MX$15.69
$0.10 E£5.65
730.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.15 MX$59.2
$1.27 E£70.3
148.03%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$92.9
$2.72 E£150
81.25%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.51
$0.82 E£45.37
71.95%
White Bread (500g)
$2.20 MX$41.32
$0.67 E£36.88
228.36%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.47 MX$27.71
$0.58 E£32.31
153.45%
Eggs
$2.50 MX$46.99
$1.16 E£64.1
115.52%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.29 MX$137
$3.16 E£174
130.70%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.95 MX$150
$3.67 E£203
116.62%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.86 MX$242
$7.77 E£429
65.51%
Apples (1kg)
$2.90 MX$54.5
$1.35 E£74.6
114.81%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 MX$26.03
$0.64 E£35.28
115.62%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.49 MX$46.88
$0.45 E£25.10
453.33%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.03 MX$38.20
$0.32 E£17.79
534.37%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 MX$38.11
$0.30 E£16.54
573.33%
Onion (1kg)
$1.90 MX$35.82
$0.29 E£15.95
555.17%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.14 MX$21.54
$0.23 E£12.71
395.65%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.24 MX$23.32
$0.19 E£10.63
552.63%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.27 MX$80.4
$1.76 E£97.3
142.61%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.81 MX$185
$5.86 E£324
67.41%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.59 MX$29.85
$1.11 E£61.5
43.24%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.75 MX$51.7
$1.88 E£104
46.28%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 MX$9.69
$0.16 E£9.06
218.75%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.39 MX$515
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.76 MX$89.6
$0.38 E£20.85
1152.63%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.25 MX$61.1
$0.19 E£10.32
1610.53%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.39 MX$101
$1.18 E£65.5
356.78%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.53 MX$28.76
$0.39 E£21.74
292.31%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$399.2K
$30.3K E£1.7M
-29.89%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.3K MX$437.8K
$23.7K E£1.3M
-1.68%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.5 MX$1,571
$14.11 E£780
491.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.19 MX$436
$6.21 E£343
273.43%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.61 MX$520
$12.59 E£696
119.30%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$56.4 MX$1,062
$15.28 E£844
269.31%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.19 MX$531
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.00 MX$94.1
$2.70 E£149
85.19%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,897
$80.6 E£4,455
156.86%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,231 MX$98.4K
$1,792 E£99.0K
191.87%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.45 MX$818
$16.28 E£900
166.89%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.54 MX$801
$41.32 E£2,283
2.95%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$72.8 MX$1,369
$110 E£6,086
-33.94%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,663
$51.1 E£2,824
72.95%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$995 MX$18.7K
$128 E£7,069
677.65%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$382 MX$7,197
$70.7 E£3,909
440.65%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,674 MX$31.5K
$241 E£13.3K
595.10%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,081 MX$20.3K
$137 E£7,587
687.03%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,909 MX$73.6K
$712 E£39.3K
449.24%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,138 MX$115.5K
$325 E£18.0K
1788.05%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Al Kharijah
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$832 MX$15.7K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
16.21
-29.36%

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 Kharijah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$382
Al Kharijah
$71 81.5% $312
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$257
Al Kharijah
$113 56.2% $145
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$200
Al Kharijah
$69 65.4% $131
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$134
Al Kharijah
$33 75.5% $101
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$111
Al Kharijah
$98 11.4% $13
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$66
Al Kharijah
$21 68.9% $46
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Al Kharijah
$2 * 96.1% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $128 in Al Kharijah. 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $14 in Al Kharijah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $113 – making Al Kharijah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇪🇬 Al Kharijah
🕒 Local time
22:23 10:23 PM
05:23 5:23 AM
7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
83,108
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 55.26 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.8 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Al Kharijah 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Al Kharijah

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 Kharijah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Al Kharijah cheaper than Playa del Carmen?
Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 196%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $610 in Al Kharijah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Kharijah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $128 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Al Kharijah?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $407 in Al Kharijah. That makes Al Kharijah about 66% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $81 in Al Kharijah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Playa del Carmen or in Al Kharijah?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al Kharijah, where all-in costs run around $407, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Al Kharijah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Playa del Carmen or Al Kharijah more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Al Kharijah – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

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