Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ha'il

For one person, living is cheaper in Ha’il: $1,073 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Ha'il
Learn more

Ha'il Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Ha'il

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,073

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ha'il

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,073 in Ha’il.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Ha'il $1,073

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,623 in Ha’il.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ha'il $1,623

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,174 in Ha’il.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Ha'il $2,174

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 12% more expensive than in Ha’il, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Ha’il 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$5.40 SAR 20.28

97.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$36.86 SAR 138

18.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$5.91 SAR 22.17

99.49%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 SAR 4.38

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 SAR 8.32

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$2.60 SAR 9.77

45.77%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$0.61 SAR 2.30

113.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.23 SAR 0.86

260.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.69 SAR 6.34

-16.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$0.86 SAR 3.21

155.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.88 SAR 7.05

-21.81%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$1.93 SAR 7.26

29.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$6.68 SAR 25.08

9.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$8.88 SAR 33.32

-10.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$8.15 SAR 30.58

57.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$1.49 SAR 5.59

94.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$1.52 SAR 5.70

-9.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.27 SAR 4.77

96.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.94 SAR 7.28

4.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.29 SAR 4.85

56.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.61 SAR 6.05

18.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$1.23 SAR 4.61

-7.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$0.48 SAR 1.79

158.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.64 SAR 9.92

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 SAR 6.47

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 SAR 6.78

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$6.77 SAR 25.42

-36.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$0.91 SAR 3.43

-43.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$36.03 SAR 135

-23.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$2.67 SAR 10.04

78.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$1.77 SAR 6.65

83.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$13.27 SAR 49.82

-59.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$0.64 SAR 2.41

139.06%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$31.0K SAR 116.5K

-31.64%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$21.8K SAR 81.8K

6.74%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$52.8 SAR 198

58.01%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$21.29 SAR 79.9

8.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$45.84 SAR 172

-39.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$66.0 SAR 248

-14.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$26.26 SAR 98.6

7.35%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$14.67 SAR 55.1

-65.92%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$419 SAR 1,571

-50.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$12.1K SAR 45.5K

-56.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$42.92 SAR 161

1.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$55.5 SAR 208

-23.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$97.9 SAR 367

-25.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$83.5 SAR 313

5.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$241 SAR 905

312.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$406 SAR 1,525

-5.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$361 SAR 1,355

363.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$618 SAR 2,321

74.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$1,982 SAR 7,438

97.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,201 SAR 4,507

411.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$1,081 SAR 4,056

-22.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.54

106.68%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ha'il: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Ha'il

$406 37.9% 6.3% $24

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Ha'il

$179 16.7% 30.6% $79

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Ha'il

$96 8.9% 52.3% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Ha'il

$120 11.2% 10.6% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Ha'il

$126 11.7% 13.2% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Ha'il

$95 8.9% 43.5% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ha'il

$51 4.8% 1.5% $0.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $241 in Ha’il. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ha’il pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $37 in Ha’il for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $179 per month, with Ha’il cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Ha'il

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

17:01 5:01 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

310,897

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ha'il 12,330 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ha'il

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 Ha'il: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ha’il wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ha’il the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $241 in Ha’il. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $419 in Ha’il. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ha’il is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.