Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al Muharraq

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Muharraq: $1,083 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Al Muharraq
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Al Muharraq Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Al Muharraq

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,083

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,083 in Al Muharraq.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Al Muharraq $1,083

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,615 in Al Muharraq.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Al Muharraq $1,615

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,147 in Al Muharraq.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Al Muharraq $2,147

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.58 BHD 0.96

323.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$26.49 BHD 9.91

63.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.98 BHD 2.24

96.99%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.87 BHD 1.45

-1.55%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.82 BHD 0.31

56.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.30 BHD 0.11

160.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$6.66 BHD 2.49

-52.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$6.75 BHD 2.53

-26.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.37 BHD 0.51

2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.07 BHD 0.40

107.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$2.37 BHD 0.89

-40.08%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$2.28 BHD 0.85

10.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$3.76 BHD 1.41

93.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$4.87 BHD 1.82

58.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$8.74 BHD 3.27

45.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.08 BHD 0.40

157.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.90 BHD 0.71

-27.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.05 BHD 0.39

142.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.39 BHD 0.52

52.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.00 BHD 0.38

94.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.51 BHD 0.19

270.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.51 BHD 0.19

125.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.55 BHD 0.20

114.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$5.25 BHD 1.96

-18.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$18.69 BHD 6.99

-46.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$3.51 BHD 1.31

-54.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.58 BHD 0.97

3.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$5.19 BHD 1.94

-4.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$1.29 BHD 0.48

158.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$5.15 BHD 1.93

4.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$0.56 BHD 0.21

157.14%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$26.2K BHD 9,792

-21.07%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$19.5K BHD 7,296

20.28%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$155 BHD 57.9

-45.20%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$21.39 BHD 8.00

9.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$34.74 BHD 12.99

-17.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$10.62 BHD 3.97

-51.60%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$617 BHD 231

-66.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$10.9K BHD 4,076

-63.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$50.9 BHD 19.04

-14.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$58.1 BHD 21.71

-28.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$87.6 BHD 32.78

-15.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$89.2 BHD 33.35

0.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$465 BHD 174

110.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$369 BHD 138

3.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$993 BHD 372

71.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$733 BHD 274

46.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$2,011 BHD 752

96.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,563 BHD 585

293.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,765 BHD 660

-58.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.21

84.38%

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 Muharraq: 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 Muharraq

$369 34% 3.2% $12

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Al Muharraq

$205 19% 19.4% $49

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Al Muharraq

$136 12.6% 32.6% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Al Muharraq

$211 19.5% 54.1% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Al Muharraq

$129 11.9% 15.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Al Muharraq

$21 * 2% 68.4% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Al Muharraq

$12 * 1.1% 76.9% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $465 in Al Muharraq. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Muharraq pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $26 in Al Muharraq for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $205 per month, with Al Muharraq cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇭 Al Muharraq

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

17:01 5:01 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

75,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.417 BHD (1 BHD = 2.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Al Muharraq 13,090 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al Muharraq

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 Muharraq: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,083 in Al Muharraq, so Al Muharraq is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $465 in Al Muharraq. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,083 in Al Muharraq – Al Muharraq is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Al Muharraq 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.