Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and El Faiyum

For one person, living is cheaper in El Faiyum: $434 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in El Faiyum
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El Faiyum Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

El Faiyum

🇪🇬 Egypt

$434

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in El Faiyum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $434 in El Faiyum.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
El Faiyum $434

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $693 in El Faiyum.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
El Faiyum $693

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $952 in El Faiyum.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
El Faiyum $952

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 178% more expensive than in El Faiyum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, El Faiyum 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$2.29 E£122

374.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$12.74 E£680

247.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$3.30 E£176

256.36%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.19 E£63.3

209.24%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.29 E£15.59

362.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.10 E£5.10

720.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$0.89 E£47.70

243.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.25 E£120

119.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.74 E£39.61

98.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.67 E£35.72

231.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.62 E£32.99

138.71%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.16 E£62.1

114.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$3.03 E£162

148.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.23 E£226

88.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$6.74 E£360

86.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.46 E£78.1

90.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$0.61 E£32.60

134.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$0.54 E£28.93

385.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$0.32 E£16.87

568.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.26 E£14.00

676.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.29 E£15.74

586.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.25 E£13.22

356.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.23 E£12.18

421.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$1.73 E£92.4

146.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$5.54 E£296

80.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.21 E£64.6

27.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.96 E£105

35.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.05 E£2.84

960.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$5.41 E£289

408.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.39 E£20.71

1156.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.29 E£15.69

1082.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$1.19 E£63.3

352.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.41 E£21.65

253.66%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$33.3K E£1.8M

-36.38%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$25.2K E£1.3M

-8.68%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$13.75 E£734

520.80%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$6.55 E£350

258.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$13.01 E£695

118.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$27.39 E£1,462

127.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$2.17 E£116

135.02%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$23.56 E£1,258

753.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$821 E£43.8K

380.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$32.17 E£1,718

37.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$43.92 E£2,345

-5.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$126 E£6,719

-42.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$54.1 E£2,888

65.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$163 E£8,682

502.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$80.5 E£4,299

362.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$258 E£13.8K

551.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$152 E£8,097

622.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$427 E£22.8K

824.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$221 E£11.8K

2675.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$70.5 E£3,762

946.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

90.83%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for El Faiyum: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

El Faiyum

$81 18.6% 78.4% $292

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

El Faiyum

$113 26% 56.4% $146

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

El Faiyum

$53 12.2% 73.5% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

El Faiyum

$33 7.7% 75.7% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

El Faiyum

$115 26.6% 3.2% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

El Faiyum

$32 7.3% 56.2% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

El Faiyum

$7.5 1.7% 85.5% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $163 in El Faiyum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 947% 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: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $13.00 in El Faiyum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $113 per month, with El Faiyum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇬 El Faiyum

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

15:37 3:37 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

306,393

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen El Faiyum 11,350 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
El Faiyum

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 El Faiyum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Faiyum is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 178% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 947% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $163 in El Faiyum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in El Faiyum runs roughly 409% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $23.56 in El Faiyum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $434 in El Faiyum versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in El Faiyum but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes El Faiyum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, El Faiyum is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and El Faiyum 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 El Faiyum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.