Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Casablanca

For one person, living is cheaper in Casablanca: $977 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Casablanca
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Casablanca Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Casablanca

🇲🇦 Morocco

$977

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $977 in Casablanca.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Casablanca $977

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,525 in Casablanca.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Casablanca $1,525

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,074 in Casablanca.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Casablanca $2,074

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 23% more expensive than in Casablanca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Casablanca 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$4.80 MAD 46.77

126.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$33.06 MAD 322

33.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.04 MAD 78.4

46.27%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.96 MAD 19.15

87.76%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.08 MAD 10.51

24.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.64 MAD 6.24

28.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$4.14 MAD 40.33

-26.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.74 MAD 56.0

-13.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.97 MAD 9.46

51.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.83 MAD 8.13

167.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.89 MAD 18.43

-21.69%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.89 MAD 18.47

31.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$11.10 MAD 108

-32.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$7.20 MAD 70.2

10.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.76 MAD 115

6.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.63 MAD 15.93

70.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.56 MAD 15.22

-8.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$0.79 MAD 7.74

231.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$0.76 MAD 7.42

181.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.62 MAD 6.08

225.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.65 MAD 6.37

206.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.49 MAD 4.81

132.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.50 MAD 4.86

140.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.11 MAD 40.11

3.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$8.18 MAD 79.7

22.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.29 MAD 22.36

-32.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.05 MAD 29.75

-12.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.84 MAD 8.20

-36.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$25.29 MAD 247

8.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.86 MAD 8.39

469.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.30 MAD 2.89

1043.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$4.56 MAD 44.43

17.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.51 MAD 14.76

-3.97%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$30.8K MAD 300.3K

-31.30%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$31.2K MAD 304.0K

-26.18%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$51.0 MAD 497

67.31%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$9.96 MAD 97.1

135.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$41.12 MAD 401

-30.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$32.46 MAD 316

91.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$21.00 MAD 205

36.57%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.57 MAD 73.8

-32.63%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$572 MAD 5,577

-64.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$5,556 MAD 54.2K

-28.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$59.2 MAD 577

-24.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$44.48 MAD 434

-7.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$94.0 MAD 917

-22.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$60.1 MAD 586

49.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$595 MAD 5,804

64.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$347 MAD 3,386

7.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,105 MAD 10.8K

52.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$645 MAD 6,289

69.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,214 MAD 21.6K

78.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,238 MAD 12.1K

395.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$670 MAD 6,536

10.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.83

137.06%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Casablanca: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Casablanca

$347 35.6% 6.8% $25

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Casablanca

$207 21.2% 19.7% $51

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Casablanca

$125 12.8% 37.5% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Casablanca

$102 10.5% 25.6% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Casablanca

$116 11.9% 3.9% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Casablanca

$48 4.9% 34.3% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Casablanca

$31 3.2% 40% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $595 in Casablanca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 10% 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: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $33.00 in Casablanca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $207 per month, with Casablanca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇦 Casablanca

🕒 Local time

06:41 6:41 AM

12:41 12:41 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,215,935

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Casablanca 7,810 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Casablanca

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 Casablanca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Casablanca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 23% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 10% 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $595 in Casablanca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Casablanca – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $977 in Casablanca – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $977 in Casablanca versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Casablanca but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Casablanca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Casablanca 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Casablanca are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Casablanca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.