Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Arar

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Arar: $1,202 and $1,185 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Arar
Learn more

Arar Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Arar

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,185

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Arar

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,185 in Arar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Arar $1,185

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,820 in Arar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Arar $1,820

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,454 in Arar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Arar $2,454

Playa del Carmen and Arar have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Playa del Carmen and Arar are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Arar 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$7.45 SAR 27.97

43.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$34.32 SAR 129

27.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.87 SAR 25.77

71.62%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.75 SAR 6.58

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 SAR 8.92

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.04 SAR 11.39

24.67%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.81 SAR 3.04

60.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.24 SAR 0.91

245.83%

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

$1.53 SAR 5.76

-7.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.39 SAR 5.22

58.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.26 SAR 8.47

-34.96%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$2.28 SAR 8.54

9.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$7.95 SAR 29.85

-8.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$8.74 SAR 32.81

-9.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.35 SAR 50.1

-3.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.43 SAR 9.12

19.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.78 SAR 6.67

-22.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.73 SAR 6.50

43.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.39 SAR 5.22

46.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.33 SAR 4.98

51.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.43 SAR 5.38

32.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.35 SAR 5.06

-15.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.54 SAR 2.02

129.63%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.18 SAR 11.93

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 SAR 6.97

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 SAR 7.21

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$7.47 SAR 28.04

-42.84%

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

$1.12 SAR 4.21

-54.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$41.17 SAR 155

-33.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$2.75 SAR 10.31

73.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.48 SAR 5.57

119.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$13.41 SAR 50.3

-59.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.68 SAR 2.56

125.00%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$29.6K SAR 111.2K

-28.40%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$23.2K SAR 87.2K

0.18%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$111 SAR 416

-24.70%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$28.89 SAR 108

-19.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$60.5 SAR 227

-54.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$73.8 SAR 277

-23.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$13.55 SAR 50.9

-63.10%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$394 SAR 1,481

-47.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$10.5K SAR 39.4K

-50.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$39.59 SAR 149

9.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$50.1 SAR 188

-15.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$110 SAR 413

-33.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$75.1 SAR 282

17.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$627 SAR 2,355

58.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$373 SAR 1,400

2.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$812 SAR 3,049

106.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$701 SAR 2,632

54.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,731 SAR 6,496

125.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,161 SAR 4,356

428.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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 Arar: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Arar

$373 31.5% 2.4% $9.3

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Arar

$210 17.8% 18.3% $47

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Arar

$121 10.2% 39.7% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Arar

$200 16.9% 49.1% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Arar

$124 10.4% 11.2% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Arar

$101 8.5% 51.9% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Arar

$56 4.7% 10.6% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $627 in Arar. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $34 in Arar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $210 – making Arar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Arar

🕒 Local time

21:03 9:03 PM

05:03 5:03 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

167,057

💱 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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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Arar 12,040 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Arar

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 Arar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,777 in Arar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $627 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $34 in Arar. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 33% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,185 in Arar, 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 $1,185 in Arar to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.