Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Eilat

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,978 in Eilat, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
147

Cost of Living Index in Eilat
Learn more

Eilat Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Eilat

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,978

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,978 in Eilat.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Eilat $2,978

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,437 in Eilat.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Eilat $4,437

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,895 in Eilat.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Eilat $5,895

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 59% less than in Eilat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Eilat is 121% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$25.88 ₪80.5

-58.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$132 ₪409

-67.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$20.47 ₪63.7

-42.40%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$5.55 ₪17.25

-30.27%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$4.04 ₪12.55

-66.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$3.18 ₪9.89

-73.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$11.28 ₪35.09

-72.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$10.79 ₪33.56

-53.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.53 ₪7.86

-43.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$4.42 ₪13.75

-49.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$3.83 ₪11.91

-61.62%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.17 ₪12.96

-39.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$21.94 ₪68.3

-66.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$15.98 ₪49.72

-50.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$25.51 ₪79.4

-49.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.53 ₪10.99

-17.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.00 ₪6.21

-28.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.59 ₪4.96

60.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.91 ₪5.95

7.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.60 ₪4.97

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.61 ₪5.00

24.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$2.71 ₪8.45

-56.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$2.64 ₪8.22

-52.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$14.46 ₪44.99

-69.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$11.29 ₪35.13

-15.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.27 ₪7.05

-29.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.33 ₪4.13

111.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.32 ₪7.22

-75.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$85.8 ₪267

-67.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.40 ₪13.68

13.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.10 ₪3.42

218.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$19.62 ₪61.0

-72.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.60 ₪8.10

-43.46%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$56.1K ₪174.6K

-62.61%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$56.7K ₪176.4K

-57.83%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$438 ₪1,363

-80.77%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$11.28 ₪35.10

112.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$35.45 ₪110

-18.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$82.6 ₪257

-23.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$15.55 ₪48.38

-68.23%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$1,677 ₪5,216

-87.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$31.3K ₪97.5K

-87.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$124 ₪387

-64.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$85.4 ₪266

-49.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$113 ₪352

-32.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$193 ₪601

-54.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,490 ₪4,634

-32.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$1,144 ₪3,560

-67.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$2,317 ₪7,208

-26.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,850 ₪5,755

-40.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$10.6K ₪32.9K

-62.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$9,075 ₪28.2K

-32.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$2,804 ₪8,725

-73.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.03

127.63%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Eilat: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Eilat

$1.1K 38.4% 206% $770

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Eilat

$456 15.3% 76.6% $198

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Eilat

$442 14.8% 119% $240

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Eilat

$485 16.3% 253% $348

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Eilat

$232 7.8% 106% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Eilat

$114 3.8% 56% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Eilat

$105 3.5% 99.8% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $1,490 in Eilat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Eilat pays 272% 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: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $132 in Eilat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $456 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇱 Eilat

🕒 Local time

04:29 4:29 AM

12:29 12:29 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

66,618

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ILS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Eilat 11,670 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Eilat

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 Eilat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Eilat differ by about 146% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $2,978 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 272% lower in Eilat. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,490 in Eilat. 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 209% less than in Eilat. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,677 in Eilat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,978 in Eilat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Eilat. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Eilat 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 146% less than in Eilat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.