Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Baabda

For one person, living is cheaper in Baabda: $1,008 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Baabda
Learn more

Baabda Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Baabda

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,008

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,008 in Baabda.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Baabda $1,008

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,611 in Baabda.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Baabda $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,213 in Baabda.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Baabda $2,213

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 20% more expensive than in Baabda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Baabda 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$11.98 LBP 1.1M

-10.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$68.0 LBP 6.1M

-36.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$10.08 LBP 901.9K

16.96%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.60 LBP 411.8K

-15.87%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.40 LBP 214.7K

-42.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.85 LBP 76.3K

-1.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$4.92 LBP 440.0K

-36.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.79 LBP 428.4K

5.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.97 LBP 176.3K

-26.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.91 LBP 81.9K

145.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.34 LBP 209.0K

-37.18%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.67 LBP 328.8K

-31.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$10.96 LBP 980.6K

-33.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$10.50 LBP 940.1K

-25.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.97 LBP 1.3M

-14.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.03 LBP 271.5K

-4.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.71 LBP 153.5K

-15.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.69 LBP 150.8K

50.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.51 LBP 135.5K

36.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.26 LBP 112.6K

58.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.60 LBP 143.3K

25.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.20 LBP 107.7K

-0.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.73 LBP 65.0K

72.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.02 LBP 270.6K

45.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$11.16 LBP 999.2K

-14.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.28 LBP 114.9K

24.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.48 LBP 221.7K

13.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.93 LBP 441.6K

1.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.30 LBP 205.9K

52.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$22.28 LBP 2.0M

-75.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.05 LBP 93.7K

40.00%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$53.3K LBP 4.8B

-60.60%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$32.7K LBP 2.9B

-26.80%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$236 LBP 21.2M

-64.38%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$22.34 LBP 2.0M

7.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$37.79 LBP 3.4M

-23.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$10.08 LBP 901.9K

-50.99%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$686 LBP 61.4M

-70.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.6K LBP 952.0M

-62.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$68.9 LBP 6.2M

-36.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$50.2 LBP 4.5M

-14.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$139 LBP 12.4M

-45.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$118 LBP 10.6M

-25.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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 Baabda: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Baabda

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Baabda

$277 27.5% 7.2% $19

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Baabda

$228 22.7% 12.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Baabda

$297 29.4% 116% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Baabda

$169 16.8% 50% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Baabda

$20 * 2% 72.3% $53

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Baabda

$16 * 1.6% 68.7% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $68.0 in Baabda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $277 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇧 Baabda

🕒 Local time

03:49 3:49 AM

11:49 11:49 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

9,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,618 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Baabda 11,440 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Baabda

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 Baabda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Baabda differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $1,008 including rent). Baabda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,816 in Playa del Carmen and $1,512 in Baabda to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $686 in Baabda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Baabda – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,008 in Baabda versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Baabda but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Baabda the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Baabda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.