Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and An Najaf

For one person, living is cheaper in An Najaf: $565 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in An Najaf
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An Najaf Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

An Najaf

🇮🇶 Iraq

$565

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in An Najaf

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $565 in An Najaf, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
An Najaf $565

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $854 in An Najaf, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
An Najaf $854

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,143 in An Najaf, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
An Najaf $1,143

Playa del Carmen costs about 113% more than An Najaf, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and An Najaf are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, An Najaf 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.88 IQD 5,856

181.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$19.70 IQD 29.8K

120.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.32 IQD 6,528

172.69%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$2.26 IQD 3,416

68.58%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$0.39 IQD 582

228.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$0.22 IQD 333

254.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$3.26 IQD 4,923

-2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$2.02 IQD 3,055

144.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$0.90 IQD 1,367

56.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$0.68 IQD 1,023

226.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$1.31 IQD 1,972

8.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$1.68 IQD 2,542

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$3.28 IQD 4,951

121.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.43 IQD 5,187

124.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.56 IQD 14.5K

32.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$0.97 IQD 1,458

186.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$0.91 IQD 1,375

50.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$0.94 IQD 1,425

171.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$0.68 IQD 1,029

211.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$0.56 IQD 841

246.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$0.61 IQD 919

209.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$0.58 IQD 877

98.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.49 IQD 743

140.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$1.63 IQD 2,462

163.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$11.93 IQD 18.0K

-16.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$1.93 IQD 2,919

-18.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$1.91 IQD 2,892

39.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

$0.31 IQD 462

77.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$1.31 IQD 1,974

279.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$1.31 IQD 1,975

154.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$5.38 IQD 8,132

-0.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$0.41 IQD 625

251.22%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$12.1K IQD 18.4M

70.12%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$16.9K IQD 25.5M

39.12%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$34.87 IQD 52.7K

143.16%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$14.80 IQD 22.4K

58.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$33.39 IQD 50.5K

-14.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

$25.35 IQD 38.3K

125.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$8.44 IQD 12.7K

-39.10%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$147 IQD 222.0K

40.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$797 IQD 1.2M

393.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$15.04 IQD 22.7K

188.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$23.28 IQD 35.2K

78.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$60.3 IQD 91.2K

22.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$41.51 IQD 62.7K

115.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$234 IQD 353.4K

318.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

$125 IQD 188.4K

205.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

$311 IQD 469.6K

449.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$189 IQD 286.0K

467.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

$1,097 IQD 1.7M

259.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

$445 IQD 672.6K

1283.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$670 IQD 1.0M

9.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.12

177.91%

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 An Najaf: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

An Najaf

$125 22.1% 67.3% $256

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

An Najaf

$149 26.4% 41.4% $105

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

An Najaf

$94 16.6% 53.6% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

An Najaf

$83 14.7% 39.3% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

An Najaf

$63 11.2% 43.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

An Najaf

$42 7.5% 37.3% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

An Najaf

$9.1 * 1.6% 82% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $234 in An Najaf. 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 10% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $20 in An Najaf. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $149 – making An Najaf the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇶 An Najaf

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

21:06 9:06 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,221,248

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen An Najaf 12,210 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
An Najaf

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 An Najaf: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 113% more than An Najaf, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $848 in An Najaf. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in An Najaf, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $234 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $565 in An Najaf. That’s a gap of about 113%.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $147 in An Najaf. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in An Najaf, where all-in costs run around $565, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In An Najaf it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward An Najaf – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with An Najaf. 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.