Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dibba Al-Fujairah

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,957 in Dibba Al-Fujairah, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in Dibba Al-Fujairah
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Dibba Al-Fujairah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Dibba Al-Fujairah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,957

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Dibba Al-Fujairah

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 Dibba Al-Fujairah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,957 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Dibba Al-Fujairah $1,957

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,564 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dibba Al-Fujairah $3,564

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,170 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Dibba Al-Fujairah $5,170

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 38% less than in Dibba Al-Fujairah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Dibba Al-Fujairah is 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.63 AED 24.36

64.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$82.3 AED 302

-47.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.22 AED 30.19

43.31%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$6.02 AED 22.09

-36.71%

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

$1.28 MX$24.04

$0.84 AED 3.08

52.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.68

$0.26 AED 0.94

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.4

$13.48 AED 49.49

-76.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$13.48 AED 49.49

-63.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.37

$1.34 AED 4.90

5.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.57

$1.11 AED 4.09

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.57

$2.38 AED 8.75

-40.34%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.30

$2.13 AED 7.80

18.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$12.19 AED 44.78

-40.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.91 AED 25.36

11.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$7.00 AED 25.70

81.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$1.60 AED 5.89

73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.65

$1.33 AED 4.88

3.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.83

$1.91 AED 7.01

33.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.81

$1.32 AED 4.86

60.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.34

$0.80 AED 2.92

142.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.36

$0.85 AED 3.11

122.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.50

$1.34 AED 4.93

-14.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.11

$0.56 AED 2.05

110.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$6.08 AED 22.34

-29.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$16.29 AED 59.8

-38.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.69

$2.59 AED 9.52

-39.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.71 AED 9.95

-1.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$2.17 AED 7.96

-74.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$34.61 AED 127

-23.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.2

$1.11 AED 4.08

347.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.73 AED 2.67

356.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$7.96 AED 29.25

-32.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.07

$0.71 AED 2.59

102.82%

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

$20.7K MX$387.5K

$26.1K AED 96.0K

-20.95%

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

$23.5K MX$440.0K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

6.46%

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

$84.8 MX$1,590

$244 AED 894

-65.19%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$53.8 AED 198

-56.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$81.3 AED 299

-64.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,070

$56.5 AED 208

0.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$28.01 AED 103

3.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.4

$16.39 AED 60.2

-68.64%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$868 AED 3,189

-76.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$5,795 AED 21.3K

-32.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$813

$67.7 AED 248

-35.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$58.0 AED 213

-28.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,391

$105 AED 384

-29.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,673

$101 AED 371

-11.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$824 AED 3,027

18.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,140

$812 AED 2,981

-53.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$1,842 AED 6,764

-7.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$2,705 AED 9,933

-60.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$4,852 AED 17.8K

-18.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.5K

$2,337 AED 8,581

163.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.54

152.20%

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 Dibba Al-Fujairah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$812 41.5% 113% $431

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$232 11.9% 8.9% $23

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$249 12.7% 22.9% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$379 19.4% 177% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$149 7.6% 33.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$89 4.6% 32.7% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$48 2.5% 4.8% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $824 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $82 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $232, with Dibba Al-Fujairah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇪 Dibba Al-Fujairah

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

21:36 9:36 PM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

30,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.75 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dibba Al-Fujairah 13,530 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dibba Al-Fujairah

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 Dibba Al-Fujairah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,957 in Dibba Al-Fujairah, so Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $2,936 in Dibba Al-Fujairah 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $824 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 23% less than in Dibba Al-Fujairah. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $868 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,957 in Dibba Al-Fujairah, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dibba Al-Fujairah. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.