Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and El Mahalla El Kubra

For one person, living is cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra: $408 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in El Mahalla El Kubra
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El Mahalla El Kubra Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

El Mahalla El Kubra

🇪🇬 Egypt

$408

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
El Mahalla El Kubra $408

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $661 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
El Mahalla El Kubra $661

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $914 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
El Mahalla El Kubra $914

Playa del Carmen costs about 195% more than El Mahalla El Kubra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and El Mahalla El Kubra are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, El Mahalla El Kubra 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$4.15 E£231

161.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$827

$14.14 E£789

212.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$220

$2.99 E£167

293.31%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.9

$1.27 E£70.7

189.76%

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

$1.34 MX$25.11

$0.32 E£17.90

318.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.44

$0.11 E£5.89

645.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.3

$1.31 E£73.0

133.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.4

$2.89 E£161

70.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.52

$0.85 E£47.50

72.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.47

$0.30 E£16.87

640.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.67

$0.52 E£28.74

184.62%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.13 E£63.1

120.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$141

$2.89 E£161

160.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$149

$4.01 E£224

98.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$7.40 E£413

69.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$1.54 E£86.1

80.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.71

$0.65 E£36.21

120.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.99

$0.45 E£25.05

482.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.99

$0.33 E£18.20

548.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.86

$0.24 E£13.30

741.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.21

$0.30 E£16.53

563.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.28

$0.27 E£15.21

322.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.46

$0.22 E£12.44

445.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.7

$1.86 E£104

129.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$5.79 E£323

73.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.77

$1.19 E£66.2

29.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.80

$2.26 E£126

17.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.85

$0.20 E£11.11

165.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.8

$0.32 E£17.70

1431.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.3

$0.46 E£25.38

645.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$101

$0.91 E£50.9

491.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.10

$0.43 E£24.23

237.21%

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

$21.2K MX$396.0K

$31.8K E£1.8M

-33.37%

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

$23.0K MX$430.8K

$22.8K E£1.3M

1.10%

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

$85.4 MX$1,598

$14.47 E£807

489.91%

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

$23.46 MX$439

$3.93 E£219

496.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$532

$8.50 E£474

234.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,164

$15.92 E£888

290.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$537

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.5

$2.79 E£156

82.80%

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

$201 MX$3,763

$32.18 E£1,795

524.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.9K

$2,084 E£116.2K

89.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$831

$16.89 E£942

162.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$774

$43.76 E£2,441

-5.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,362

$101 E£5,630

-27.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,677

$56.4 E£3,146

58.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$131 E£7,322

645.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,976

$75.4 E£4,204

394.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.5K

$254 E£14.2K

562.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.5K

$144 E£8,011

662.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.9K

$745 E£41.6K

429.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.9K

$355 E£19.8K

1629.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

21.33

-46.32%

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 Mahalla El Kubra: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$75 18.5% 79.8% $297

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$111 27.3% 57% $147

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$71 17.5% 64.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$27 6.6% 80.4% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$98 24.1% 12.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$22 5.3% 70.3% $51

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$3.4 * 0.8% 93.4% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $131 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $14 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $111 – making El Mahalla El Kubra the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇬 El Mahalla El Kubra

🕒 Local time

01:23 1:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

431,052

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen El Mahalla El Kubra 11,280 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
El Mahalla El Kubra

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 Mahalla El Kubra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra – roughly 195% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $612 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $131 there versus $979 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That’s a gap of about 195%.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $32 in El Mahalla El Kubra. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in El Mahalla El Kubra, where all-in costs run around $408, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In El Mahalla El Kubra it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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