Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al Mubarraz

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,251 in Al Mubarraz, rent and utilities included – about $590 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Al Mubarraz
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Al Mubarraz Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Al Mubarraz

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,251 in Al Mubarraz, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Al Mubarraz $1,251

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,894 in Al Mubarraz, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Al Mubarraz $1,894

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,538 in Al Mubarraz, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Al Mubarraz $2,538

Playa del Carmen is about 4% cheaper than Al Mubarraz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Playa del Carmen and Al Mubarraz are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Al Mubarraz 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.36 SAR 27.64

44.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$36.62 SAR 137

19.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$8.00 SAR 30.03

47.37%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.08 SAR 7.80

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 SAR 7.89

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$4.47 SAR 16.76

-15.21%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.67 SAR 2.52

94.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.28 SAR 1.06

196.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.73 SAR 6.50

-18.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.33 SAR 4.99

65.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.47 SAR 9.27

-40.49%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.99 SAR 11.21

-16.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$10.63 SAR 39.91

-31.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$9.59 SAR 36.01

-17.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$14.99 SAR 56.3

-14.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.93 SAR 10.99

-1.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.88 SAR 7.06

-26.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.51 SAR 9.41

-0.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.78 SAR 6.69

14.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.17 SAR 4.38

72.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.33 SAR 4.99

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.76 SAR 6.59

-35.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.58 SAR 2.17

113.79%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.98 SAR 11.19

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 SAR 6.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 SAR 9.33

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$7.59 SAR 28.48

-43.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$1.02 SAR 3.82

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$32.07 SAR 120

-14.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$3.27 SAR 12.27

45.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.89 SAR 7.10

71.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$13.53 SAR 50.8

-60.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.64 SAR 2.40

139.06%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$26.3K SAR 98.7K

-19.35%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$21.8K SAR 81.8K

6.71%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$107 SAR 402

-21.96%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$29.24 SAR 110

-20.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$70.4 SAR 264

-60.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$78.5 SAR 295

-28.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$13.68 SAR 51.3

-63.45%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$552 SAR 2,073

-62.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$16.5K SAR 62.0K

-68.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$57.6 SAR 216

-24.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$54.6 SAR 205

-22.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$103 SAR 386

-29.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$104 SAR 392

-15.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$557 SAR 2,092

78.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$363 SAR 1,363

5.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$914 SAR 3,433

83.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$611 SAR 2,293

76.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,728 SAR 6,485

126.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,143 SAR 4,290

437.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,069 SAR 4,011

-22.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.54

106.68%

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 Mubarraz: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Al Mubarraz

$363 29% 5.1% $19

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Al Mubarraz

$242 19.4% 5.9% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Al Mubarraz

$140 11.2% 29.9% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Al Mubarraz

$207 16.5% 53.9% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Al Mubarraz

$144 11.5% 29.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Al Mubarraz

$106 8.5% 59.4% $39

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Al Mubarraz

$49 3.9% 3.2% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $557 in Al Mubarraz. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 28% higher in Al Mubarraz. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $37 in Al Mubarraz. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $242 – making Al Mubarraz the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Al Mubarraz

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

05:47 5:47 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

290,802

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.23 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Al Mubarraz 13,080 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al Mubarraz

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 Mubarraz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $1,251 in Al Mubarraz – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 4% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,876 in Al Mubarraz. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Mubarraz, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $557 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $552 in Al Mubarraz. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 6% cheaper in Al Mubarraz – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,251 in Al Mubarraz, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,251 in Al Mubarraz. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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