Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hamra

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamra: $982 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Hamra
Learn more

Hamra Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Hamra

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$982

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $982 in Hamra.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Hamra $982

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,583 in Hamra.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hamra $1,583

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,183 in Hamra.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Hamra $2,183

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 23% more expensive than in Hamra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Hamra 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$11.96 LBP 1.1M

-8.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$67.7 LBP 6.1M

-35.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.85 LBP 882.0K

19.59%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$4.62 LBP 413.2K

-17.53%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.39 LBP 213.7K

-46.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.89 LBP 80.0K

-12.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$4.94 LBP 441.9K

-35.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.76 LBP 426.3K

3.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$2.02 LBP 180.4K

-30.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.84 LBP 75.5K

164.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$2.18 LBP 194.8K

-34.86%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.60 LBP 322.2K

-30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$11.26 LBP 1.0M

-35.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$10.44 LBP 934.4K

-26.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$14.67 LBP 1.3M

-13.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.01 LBP 269.4K

-7.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.70 LBP 152.1K

-19.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.67 LBP 149.4K

52.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$1.54 LBP 137.8K

37.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.25 LBP 112.3K

55.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.56 LBP 139.6K

21.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.17 LBP 104.5K

-1.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.73 LBP 64.9K

61.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.91 LBP 260.7K

47.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.95 LBP 979.8K

-9.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.33 LBP 119.3K

18.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.50 LBP 223.6K

6.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$5.12 LBP 458.1K

-2.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$2.28 LBP 204.0K

46.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$22.80 LBP 2.0M

-76.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.09 LBP 97.9K

32.11%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$53.1K LBP 4.7B

-61.05%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$32.4K LBP 2.9B

-27.65%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$211 LBP 18.9M

-59.88%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$23.94 LBP 2.1M

-2.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$38.49 LBP 3.4M

-25.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$10.03 LBP 897.7K

-48.75%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$689 LBP 61.7M

-70.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$10.7K LBP 959.7M

-63.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$67.2 LBP 6.0M

-35.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$49.06 LBP 4.4M

-15.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$137 LBP 12.3M

-45.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$122 LBP 10.9M

-26.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hamra: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Hamra

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Hamra

$275 28% 8% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Hamra

$228 23.2% 12.7% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Hamra

$274 27.9% 100% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Hamra

$169 17.2% 51.2% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Hamra

$20 * 2% 70.2% $47

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hamra

$17 * 1.7% 67.3% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $68 in Hamra for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $275 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇧 Hamra

🕒 Local time

13:23 1:23 PM

20:23 8:23 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,251,739

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD

100,000 LBP = 1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 99,933 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hamra 11,430 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hamra

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 Hamra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $982 in Hamra, so Hamra is about 18% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,474 in Hamra to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $689 in Hamra. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $68 in Hamra. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $982 in Hamra versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Hamra but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Hamra the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Hamra delivers better value at $982 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Hamra hard to pass up.