Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Al-Ula: $1,210 and $1,184 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Al-Ula
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Al-Ula Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Al-Ula

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,184

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,184 in Al-Ula, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Al-Ula $1,184

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,757 in Al-Ula, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Al-Ula $1,757

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,330 in Al-Ula, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Al-Ula $2,330

Playa del Carmen costs about 2% more than Al-Ula, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Al-Ula are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Al-Ula 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$6.11 SAR 22.91

76.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$36.80 SAR 138

16.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.96 SAR 29.87

48.12%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.08

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 SAR 8.62

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.17 SAR 11.89

22.08%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.86 SAR 3.24

59.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.26 SAR 0.98

223.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.74 SAR 6.52

-17.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.27 SAR 4.75

75.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.30 SAR 8.62

-36.09%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.32 SAR 8.72

9.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.39 SAR 27.75

-1.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$8.07 SAR 30.27

-2.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$12.67 SAR 47.54

0.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.25 SAR 8.45

28.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.76 SAR 6.60

-18.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.58 SAR 5.94

61.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.57 SAR 5.89

31.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.23 SAR 4.61

62.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.28 SAR 4.79

57.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.22 SAR 4.58

-2.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.54 SAR 2.02

133.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.86 SAR 10.71

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 SAR 7.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.74 SAR 25.28

-34.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.09 SAR 4.08

-47.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$36.77 SAR 138

-24.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.61 SAR 9.80

90.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.85 SAR 6.95

89.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$13.14 SAR 49.29

-58.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.65 SAR 2.44

126.15%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$44.0K SAR 165.2K

-52.33%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$21.3K SAR 79.9K

12.23%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$106 SAR 397

-20.50%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$33.21 SAR 125

-27.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$65.8 SAR 247

-55.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$82.4 SAR 309

-23.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$13.33 SAR 50.0

-62.94%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$425 SAR 1,596

-52.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$8,102 SAR 30.4K

-51.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$42.74 SAR 160

2.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$55.4 SAR 208

-22.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$96.2 SAR 361

-21.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$87.6 SAR 329

1.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$576 SAR 2,162

75.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$372 SAR 1,397

0.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$832 SAR 3,121

105.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$572 SAR 2,147

93.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,323 SAR 8,718

69.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,382 SAR 5,187

346.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

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: October 10, 2026

Last update for Al-Ula: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Al-Ula

$372 31.5% 0.5% $1.7

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Al-Ula

$203 17.1% 21.6% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Al-Ula

$115 9.7% 43% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Al-Ula

$205 17.3% 49.4% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Al-Ula

$127 10.7% 12.3% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Al-Ula

$109 9.2% 49.7% $36

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Al-Ula

$53 4.5% 0.8% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $576 in Al-Ula. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $37.00 in Al-Ula. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $203 – making Al-Ula the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Al-Ula

🕒 Local time

05:10 5:10 AM

13:10 1:10 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

32,413

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 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-Ula 12,100 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al-Ula

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-Ula: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $1,184 in Al-Ula – roughly 2% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,776 in Al-Ula. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al-Ula, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $425 in Al-Ula. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 28% 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.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Al-Ula, where all-in costs run around $1,184, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Al-Ula it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,184 in Al-Ula to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Al-Ula. 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.