Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Doha

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,149 in Doha, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Doha
Learn more

Doha Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Doha

🇶🇦 Qatar

$2,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,149 in Doha, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Doha $2,149

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,429 in Doha, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Doha $3,429

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,709 in Doha, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Doha $4,709

Playa del Carmen is about 44% cheaper than Doha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Doha is 58% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$9.36 QAR 34.05

16.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$69.1 QAR 251

-37.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$7.88 QAR 28.70

49.49%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.99 QAR 43.63

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.81 QAR 50.3

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.69 QAR 20.72

-33.04%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.90 QAR 3.29

42.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.41 QAR 1.48

90.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.08 QAR 7.57

-32.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.36 QAR 4.96

63.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.92 QAR 6.99

-26.04%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$3.38 QAR 12.29

-25.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.36 QAR 41.34

-36.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.73 QAR 28.12

-0.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$11.07 QAR 40.28

14.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.29 QAR 8.32

21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.85 QAR 6.75

-25.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.58 QAR 5.75

61.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.26 QAR 4.60

68.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.98 QAR 3.55

97.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.97 QAR 3.52

94.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.42 QAR 5.19

-19.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.50 QAR 1.84

136.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.69 QAR 35.27

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 QAR 6.76

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 QAR 8.33

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$6.33 QAR 23.04

-32.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.56 QAR 2.04

-1.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$32.40 QAR 118

-17.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.89 QAR 6.87

162.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.09 QAR 7.61

59.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$13.50 QAR 49.14

-60.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$0.55 QAR 2.00

161.82%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$24.2K QAR 88.1K

-14.60%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$21.4K QAR 77.9K

9.67%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$83.6 QAR 304

1.40%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$33.81 QAR 123

-30.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$88.0 QAR 320

-67.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$194 QAR 707

-70.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$18.58 QAR 67.6

55.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$12.28 QAR 44.68

-58.14%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$720 QAR 2,619

-71.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$9,469 QAR 34.5K

-58.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$59.6 QAR 217

-27.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$54.0 QAR 197

-23.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$99.4 QAR 362

-25.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$83.7 QAR 305

6.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$2,014 QAR 7,332

-51.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$1,159 QAR 4,220

-67.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$3,486 QAR 12.7K

-51.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,403 QAR 8,748

-55.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$4,079 QAR 14.8K

-3.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$2,416 QAR 8,796

154.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$3,308 QAR 12.0K

-77.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.92

93.41%

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 Doha: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Doha

$1.2K 53.9% 205% $779

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Doha

$213 9.9% 16.3% $41

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Doha

$172 8% 15% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Doha

$205 9.6% 50.1% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Doha

$134 6.2% 19.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Doha

$219 10.2% 225% $151

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Doha

$47 2.2% 6.9% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,014 in Doha. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Doha are about 4.5 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 $69 in Doha. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $213 in Doha – so Doha wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇶🇦 Doha

🕒 Local time

03:59 3:59 AM

11:59 11:59 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,312,947 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.246 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

QAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.06 QAR (1 QAR = 0.246 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Doha 13,230 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Doha

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 Doha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Doha is pricier by about 78%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,224 in Doha. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $2,014 in Doha.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $720 in Doha. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Doha at $2,149. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Doha it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Doha makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.