Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ar-rass

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rass: $1,162 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $480 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
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Ar-rass Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,162

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ar-rass

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,162 in Ar-rass.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Ar-rass $1,162

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,717 in Ar-rass.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ar-rass $1,717

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,272 in Ar-rass.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Ar-rass $2,272

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 3% more expensive than in Ar-rass, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Ar-rass 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$6.73 SAR 25.27

58.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$37.53 SAR 141

16.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$8.20 SAR 30.78

43.78%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 SAR 6.79

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 SAR 8.23

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$3.29 SAR 12.36

15.20%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.88 SAR 3.30

47.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.27 SAR 1.01

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.81 SAR 6.81

-22.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$0.38 SAR 1.43

478.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.82 SAR 6.85

-19.23%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$3.67 SAR 13.78

-31.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$6.77 SAR 25.40

7.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$7.99 SAR 29.97

-0.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$12.90 SAR 48.43

-0.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.14 SAR 8.03

35.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.73 SAR 6.48

-20.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.64 SAR 6.17

51.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.56 SAR 5.84

30.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.25 SAR 4.68

61.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.33 SAR 5.01

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$1.26 SAR 4.73

-9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.58 SAR 2.17

113.79%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.01 SAR 11.29

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 SAR 7.33

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 SAR 7.94

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$7.88 SAR 29.58

-45.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.96 SAR 3.60

-46.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$42.22 SAR 158

-35.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$2.61 SAR 9.78

82.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$1.49 SAR 5.60

118.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$13.93 SAR 52.3

-61.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$0.61 SAR 2.27

150.82%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$25.3K SAR 95.1K

-16.27%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$21.7K SAR 81.4K

7.23%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$94.9 SAR 356

-12.02%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$24.18 SAR 90.7

-4.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$60.3 SAR 226

-54.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$43.79 SAR 164

28.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$13.26 SAR 49.79

-62.29%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$417 SAR 1,565

-50.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$11.2K SAR 42.0K

-53.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$42.38 SAR 159

2.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$55.8 SAR 209

-23.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$97.9 SAR 368

-25.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$74.6 SAR 280

18.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$562 SAR 2,110

76.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$416 SAR 1,560

-7.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$383 SAR 1,439

336.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$620 SAR 2,327

74.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,915 SAR 7,189

104.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,353 SAR 5,078

353.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$1,732 SAR 6,502

-51.95%

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 Ar-rass: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Ar-rass

$416 35.8% 8.7% $33

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Ar-rass

$197 16.9% 23.6% $61

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Ar-rass

$123 10.5% 38.8% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Ar-rass

$179 15.4% 33.6% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Ar-rass

$122 10.5% 9.5% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Ar-rass

$70 6.1% 5.8% $3.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ar-rass

$56 4.8% 11.3% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $562 in Ar-rass. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ar-rass pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $38 in Ar-rass for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $197 per month, with Ar-rass cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🕒 Local time

05:08 5:08 AM

13:08 1:08 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

121,359

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.238 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ar-rass 12,590 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ar-rass

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 Ar-rass: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,162 in Ar-rass, so Ar-rass is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 52% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $562 in Ar-rass. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $417 in Ar-rass. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ar-rass 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.