Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ba'qubah

For one person, living is cheaper in Ba'qubah: $524 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Ba'qubah
Learn more

Ba'qubah Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Ba'qubah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$524

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ba'qubah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $524 in Ba'qubah.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Ba'qubah $524

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $826 in Ba'qubah.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Ba'qubah $826

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,128 in Ba'qubah.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Ba'qubah $1,128

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 131% more expensive than in Ba'qubah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Ba'qubah 61% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$4.18 IQD 6,323

157.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$13.31 IQD 20.1K

223.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.70 IQD 8,615

106.84%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.01 IQD 1,520

283.17%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.47 IQD 707

191.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.18 IQD 266

366.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.66 IQD 2,516

86.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.05 IQD 6,113

25.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.03 IQD 1,559

39.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.47 IQD 704

374.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.03 IQD 1,552

42.72%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.27 IQD 1,924

99.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$2.00 IQD 3,016

265.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.10 IQD 3,179

274.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.09 IQD 13.7K

40.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$0.84 IQD 1,266

245.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$0.93 IQD 1,402

54.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$0.85 IQD 1,290

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$0.47 IQD 711

338.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.51 IQD 776

292.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.60 IQD 908

235.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.43 IQD 648

176.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.15 IQD 220

740.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.20 IQD 3,326

100.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$10.64 IQD 16.1K

-9.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.45 IQD 2,197

9.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.80 IQD 2,722

56.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.43 IQD 644

32.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$18.36 IQD 27.7K

51.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.61 IQD 2,427

209.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.57 IQD 2,368

122.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$4.71 IQD 7,120

14.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.31 IQD 473

374.19%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$16.4K IQD 24.8M

27.80%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$17.4K IQD 26.3M

37.42%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$50.1 IQD 75.6K

68.22%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$12.12 IQD 18.3K

97.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$22.83 IQD 34.5K

27.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$16.53 IQD 25.0K

281.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$3.36 IQD 5,078

47.02%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$22.77 IQD 34.4K

794.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$555 IQD 838.8K

609.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$16.58 IQD 25.0K

162.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$16.76 IQD 25.3K

157.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$60.1 IQD 90.9K

25.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$22.70 IQD 34.3K

290.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$178 IQD 268.4K

467.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$130 IQD 197.1K

186.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$371 IQD 560.2K

360.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$308 IQD 465.5K

259.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$704 IQD 1.1M

460.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$579 IQD 874.1K

966.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$627 IQD 946.7K

20.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.53

352.57%

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 Ba'qubah: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Ba'qubah

$130 24.9% 65.1% $244

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Ba'qubah

$122 23.3% 52.9% $137

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Ba'qubah

$82 15.6% 59.6% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Ba'qubah

$85 16.2% 38% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Ba'qubah

$52 10% 53.7% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Ba'qubah

$23 4.4% 68.1% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Ba'qubah

$30 5.6% 43.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $178 in Ba'qubah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 20% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $13.00 in Ba'qubah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $122 per month, with Ba'qubah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇶 Ba'qubah

🕒 Local time

01:12 1:12 AM

09:12 9:12 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

268,866

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.88 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.88 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ba'qubah 12,100 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ba'qubah

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 Ba'qubah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ba'qubah is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 131% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 20% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $178 in Ba'qubah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 112% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ba'qubah – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $524 in Ba'qubah versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ba'qubah but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ba'qubah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ba'qubah is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Ba'qubah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.