Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Buraydah

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Buraydah: $1,204 and $1,226 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Buraydah
Learn more

Buraydah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Buraydah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,226 in Buraydah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Buraydah $1,226

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,036 in Buraydah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Buraydah $2,036

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,845 in Buraydah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Buraydah $2,845

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

Both Playa del Carmen and Buraydah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Buraydah 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$13.15 SAR 49.35

-16.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$39.53 SAR 148

9.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.99 SAR 29.99

47.43%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 SAR 4.91

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.54 SAR 13.27

7.63%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.79 SAR 2.96

62.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.26 SAR 0.98

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.67 SAR 6.25

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.10 SAR 4.14

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.53 SAR 9.51

-43.87%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.89 SAR 10.83

-12.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.31 SAR 31.19

-12.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.57 SAR 24.65

17.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$13.54 SAR 50.8

-6.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.28 SAR 8.57

21.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.83 SAR 6.87

-25.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.74 SAR 6.53

46.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.75 SAR 6.58

21.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.40 SAR 5.26

38.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.30 SAR 4.88

45.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.05 SAR 3.94

9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.67 SAR 2.52

76.12%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 SAR 5.54

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 SAR 9.68

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$6.23 SAR 23.37

-30.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.08 SAR 4.05

-49.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$37.57 SAR 141

-29.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$2.62 SAR 9.85

89.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.70 SAR 10.13

23.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$16.75 SAR 62.9

-68.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.59 SAR 2.22

144.07%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$42.2K SAR 158.4K

-51.04%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$23.0K SAR 86.2K

2.18%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$69.9 SAR 262

21.27%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$31.54 SAR 118

-25.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$70.1 SAR 263

-59.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$138 SAR 517

-58.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$35.66 SAR 134

-18.93%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$15.09 SAR 56.6

-65.94%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$269 SAR 1,010

-23.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$3,800 SAR 14.3K

3.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$52.1 SAR 196

-16.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$54.4 SAR 204

-23.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$80.4 SAR 302

-7.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$70.9 SAR 266

25.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$700 SAR 2,628

39.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$332 SAR 1,245

14.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$905 SAR 3,397

88.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$827 SAR 3,104

29.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,949 SAR 7,314

102.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,335 SAR 5,009

361.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,467 SAR 9,257

-70.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.98

187.69%

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 Buraydah: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Buraydah

$332 27.1% 12.9% $49

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Buraydah

$205 16.7% 19.5% $50

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Buraydah

$176 14.3% 13.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Buraydah

$172 14% 25.3% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Buraydah

$116 9.5% 3.8% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Buraydah

$168 13.7% 150% $101

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Buraydah

$58 4.7% 15% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $700 in Buraydah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Buraydah are about 3.4 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 $40 in Buraydah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $205 – making Buraydah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Buraydah

🕒 Local time

21:04 9:04 PM

05:04 5:04 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

467,410

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.19 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Buraydah 12,590 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Buraydah

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 Buraydah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,839 in Buraydah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Buraydah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $700 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Interestingly, groceries are about 20% cheaper in Buraydah – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $269 in Buraydah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,226 in Buraydah, 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 $1,226 in Buraydah. 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, Buraydah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.