Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dubai Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dubai

🙂 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 26% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 57.1% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 43.2% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 47.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.99 MX$227
$11.02 AED 40.48
8.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.47 MX$803
$80.4 AED 295
-47.16%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.47 MX$198
$9.33 AED 34.28
12.22%
Cappuccino
$3.6 MX$68.2
$5.49 AED 20.15
-34.43%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.44 MX$27.16
$1.24 AED 4.57
16.13%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.89 MX$16.79
$0.88 AED 3.22
1.14%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 MX$58.5
$12.4 AED 45.55
-75.08%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.58 MX$86.6
$13.52 AED 49.66
-66.12%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 MX$26.04
$2.01 AED 7.36
-31.34%
White Bread (500g)
$1.85 MX$34.9
$1.42 AED 5.22
30.28%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 MX$29.68
$2.27 AED 8.32
-30.84%
Eggs
$2.55 MX$48.3
$3.31 AED 12.15
-22.96%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$163
$10.19 AED 37.4
-15.51%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$9.18 AED 33.71
-6.97%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.98 MX$208
$12.76 AED 46.85
-13.95%
Apples (1kg)
$2.72 MX$51.4
$2.3 AED 8.44
18.26%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.57
$1.87 AED 6.85
-19.25%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 MX$35.63
$1.86 AED 6.82
1.08%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.42
$1.49 AED 5.48
46.98%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 MX$35.3
$1.19 AED 4.39
57.14%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.37
$1.26 AED 4.64
73.81%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.23
$1.4 AED 5.13
-23.57%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.64
$0.65 AED 2.38
67.69%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 MX$74.9
$6.7 AED 24.61
-40.90%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.86 MX$167
$16.32 AED 59.9
-45.71%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.72 MX$32.53
$2.64 AED 9.68
-34.85%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 MX$49.37
$3.52 AED 12.92
-25.85%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.74
$1.59 AED 5.84
-67.30%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.59 MX$503
$80.7 AED 296
-67.06%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 MX$61.2
$3.22 AED 11.83
0.62%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 MX$44.94
$0.85 AED 3.14
180.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$58.7
$8.37 AED 30.73
-62.84%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 MX$24.85
$0.72 AED 2.65
81.94%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K MX$573K
$33K AED 121K
-8.05%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24K MX$453.6K
$22.7K AED 83.3K
5.84%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$217 AED 796
-61.15%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.14 MX$419
$63.4 AED 233
-65.08%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.14 MX$570
$101 AED 371
-70.16%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52 MX$983
$89.1 AED 327
-41.63%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.72 MX$354
$46.03 AED 169
-59.33%
Cinema Ticket
$5.07 MX$95.9
$14.96 AED 54.9
-66.11%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,787
$833 AED 3,060
-75.97%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,333 MX$100.8K
$14.3K AED 52.4K
-62.61%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.74 MX$676
$83.3 AED 306
-57.10%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.8 MX$753
$63.7 AED 234
-37.49%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79 MX$1,493
$113 AED 413
-29.82%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,671
$122 AED 447
-27.34%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$965 MX$18.3K
$2,421 AED 8,892
-60.13%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$474 MX$8,968
$1,560 AED 5,729
-69.60%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,653 MX$31.2K
$4,608 AED 16.9K
-64.13%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,202 MX$22.7K
$2,940 AED 10.8K
-59.12%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,081 MX$58.3K
$7,378 AED 27.1K
-58.23%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,529 MX$142.3K
$3,803 AED 14K
97.97%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Dubai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$792 MX$15K
$4,063 AED 14.9K
-80.51%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
4.49
154.34%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Dubai: October 27, 2025

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