Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hurghada

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $445 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
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Hurghada Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$445

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $445 in Hurghada, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Hurghada $445

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $932 in Hurghada, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hurghada $932

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,419 in Hurghada, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Hurghada $1,419

Playa del Carmen costs about 171% more than Hurghada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Hurghada are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Hurghada 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.56 E£199

206.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$38.24 E£2,140

13.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.30 E£297

122.26%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$1.93 E£108

97.41%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.45 E£25.24

184.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.18 E£10.00

333.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.75 E£98.1

81.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.98 E£167

65.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$0.89 E£49.54

58.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.79 E£44.20

181.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$0.60 E£33.79

136.67%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$1.79 E£100

40.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$3.09 E£173

134.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.49 E£307

40.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$9.34 E£522

35.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.38 E£77.2

101.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$0.50 E£27.97

174.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$0.41 E£23.19

521.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$0.37 E£20.48

472.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.32 E£17.93

506.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.35 E£19.55

440.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.26 E£14.41

342.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.17 E£9.26

594.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.00 E£112

115.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.36 E£412

35.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.21 E£67.9

30.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.64 E£92.0

62.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.08 E£4.35

587.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$5.22 E£292

409.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$0.90 E£50.6

452.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.20 E£11.05

1565.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.77 E£98.9

202.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$0.39 E£21.88

269.23%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$29.9K E£1.7M

-30.89%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$22.4K E£1.3M

4.92%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$24.18 E£1,353

250.66%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$7.63 E£427

206.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$8.75 E£490

227.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$26.47 E£1,481

115.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$5.84 E£327

395.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$3.28 E£184

56.71%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$99.3 E£5,556

108.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$595 E£33.3K

560.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$18.80 E£1,052

130.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$30.81 E£1,724

34.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$26.42 E£1,478

237.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$205 E£11.5K

378.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$111 E£6,230

242.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$216 E£12.1K

691.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$542 E£30.3K

98.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$513 E£28.7K

668.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$572 E£32.0K

976.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$141 E£7,861

422.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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 Hurghada: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Hurghada

$111 25% 70.8% $269

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Hurghada

$133 30% 47.7% $122

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Hurghada

$85 19.1% 58.1% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Hurghada

$41 9.1% 70.4% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Hurghada

$34 * 7.7% 69.4% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Hurghada

$33 7.4% 50.9% $34

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hurghada

$7.4 1.7% 85.3% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $205 in Hurghada. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 5.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $38 in Hurghada. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $133 – making Hurghada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🕒 Local time

10:55 10:55 AM

17:55 5:55 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

160,901

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 55.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.47 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hurghada 11,720 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hurghada

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 Hurghada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 171%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $667 in Hurghada. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hurghada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $205 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $445 in Hurghada. That makes Hurghada about 63% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 80% less in Hurghada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Hurghada, where all-in costs run around $445, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Hurghada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Hurghada. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.