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 34.6% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 57.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 33.6% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 47.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$210

$10.73 AED 39.37

10.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$746

$82.2 AED 302

-48.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$190

$9.32 AED 34.21

15.34%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$61.5

$5.72 AED 21.01

-39.34%

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

$1.45 MX$25.72

$1.23 AED 4.53

17.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.98

$0.94 AED 3.43

-4.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$54.1

$12.21 AED 44.81

-75.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$78.2

$13.41 AED 49.22

-67.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$24.24

$2.01 AED 7.37

-31.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$33.14

$1.37 AED 5.02

36.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$27.32

$2.20 AED 8.09

-30.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$44.31

$3.37 AED 12.38

-25.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$152

$10.11 AED 37.09

-14.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$153

$9.49 AED 34.81

-9.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$195

$12.48 AED 45.78

-11.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$48.67

$2.39 AED 8.78

15.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$25.28

$1.96 AED 7.20

-27.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$33.15

$1.86 AED 6.84

0.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$38.37

$1.50 AED 5.49

44.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$33.33

$1.18 AED 4.34

59.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$39.76

$1.30 AED 4.78

73.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.90

$1.43 AED 5.26

-25.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.00

$0.69 AED 2.54

55.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$73.5

$6.68 AED 24.50

-37.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$183

$18.88 AED 69.3

-45.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$29.72

$2.65 AED 9.74

-36.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$43.97

$3.43 AED 12.59

-27.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.82

$1.60 AED 5.86

-65.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$470

$81.0 AED 297

-67.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$56.9

$3.22 AED 11.80

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$43.93

$0.80 AED 2.92

210.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$55.0

$8.28 AED 30.40

-62.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$22.22

$0.75 AED 2.75

68.00%

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

$30.7K MX$542.7K

$32.7K AED 120.0K

-6.20%

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

$24.0K MX$425.5K

$22.4K AED 82.2K

7.33%

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

$82.5 MX$1,460

$215 AED 790

-61.69%

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

$22.29 MX$394

$62.6 AED 230

-64.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$531

$103 AED 379

-70.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$911

$89.1 AED 327

-42.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$324

$47.01 AED 173

-61.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$88.2

$15.14 AED 55.6

-67.11%

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

$200 MX$3,540

$834 AED 3,062

-76.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$93.9K

$14.5K AED 53.1K

-63.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$632

$83.7 AED 307

-57.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$700

$62.5 AED 229

-36.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,426

$112 AED 411

-28.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,563

$122 AED 448

-27.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$17.2K

$2,390 AED 8,769

-59.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,535

$1,560 AED 5,726

-69.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$28.2K

$4,546 AED 16.7K

-64.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$21.0K

$3,006 AED 11.0K

-60.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$71.7K

$7,269 AED 26.7K

-44.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$115.4K

$4,104 AED 15.1K

58.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.4K

$4,017 AED 14.7K

-81.17%

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: March 3, 2026

Last update for Dubai: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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