Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and As-salimiyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,328 in As-salimiyah, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in As-salimiyah outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in As-salimiyah
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As-salimiyah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

As-salimiyah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in As-salimiyah

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,328 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
As-salimiyah $1,328

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,190 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
As-salimiyah $2,190

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,051 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
As-salimiyah $3,051

Playa del Carmen is about 9% cheaper than As-salimiyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and As-salimiyah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, As-salimiyah 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$8.23 KWD 2.54

32.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$38.19 KWD 11.77

13.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$9.10 KWD 2.80

29.45%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 KWD 1.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 KWD 0.50

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.48 KWD 1.38

-14.96%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.75 KWD 0.23

70.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.29 KWD 0.09

168.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.31 KWD 0.40

7.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.75 KWD 0.23

196.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.97 KWD 0.61

-27.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.13 KWD 0.66

18.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$4.43 KWD 1.36

63.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.31 KWD 1.64

45.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.46 KWD 2.92

34.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.14 KWD 0.66

29.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.62 KWD 0.50

-15.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.25 KWD 0.39

104.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.47 KWD 0.45

44.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.36 KWD 0.42

42.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.82 KWD 0.25

130.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.57 KWD 0.48

-26.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.50 KWD 0.15

136.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.23 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 KWD 0.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.71 KWD 0.84

58.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.84 KWD 0.26

-34.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$48.79 KWD 15.03

-45.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.31 KWD 1.02

50.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.31 KWD 1.02

0.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$15.94 KWD 4.91

-66.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.36 KWD 0.11

300.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$23.4K KWD 7,220

-11.81%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$20.1K KWD 6,200

16.61%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$32.30 KWD 9.95

162.51%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$21.28 KWD 6.56

10.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$30.14 KWD 9.29

-4.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$97.8 KWD 30.14

-41.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$64.0 KWD 19.70

-54.79%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$11.14 KWD 3.43

-53.86%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$275 KWD 84.8

-24.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,338 KWD 1,953

-38.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$36.80 KWD 11.34

17.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$39.01 KWD 12.02

6.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$89.2 KWD 27.49

-16.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$64.7 KWD 19.93

37.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$896 KWD 276

9.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$642 KWD 198

-40.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,771 KWD 546

-3.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,388 KWD 428

-22.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,815 KWD 867

-73.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.53

75.34%

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 As-salimiyah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

As-salimiyah

$642 48.4% 68.6% $261

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

As-salimiyah

$156 11.7% 38.8% $99

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

As-salimiyah

$151 11.4% 25.4% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

As-salimiyah

$84 6.3% 38.8% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

As-salimiyah

$103 7.8% 7.5% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

As-salimiyah

$120 9% 78.4% $53

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

As-salimiyah

$72 5.4% 42.7% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $896 in As-salimiyah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in As-salimiyah are about 3.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in As-salimiyah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $156 – making As-salimiyah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇼 As-salimiyah

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

02:08 2:08 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

147,649

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.343 KWD (1 KWD = 2.92 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen As-salimiyah 12,670 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
As-salimiyah

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 As-salimiyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – As-salimiyah is pricier by about 10%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,992 in As-salimiyah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $980 in Playa del Carmen and $896 in As-salimiyah. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,328 in As-salimiyah. That makes Playa del Carmen about 9% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 45% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,328 in As-salimiyah, 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,328 in As-salimiyah. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, As-salimiyah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.