Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ibb

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibb: $876 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
Learn more

Ibb Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $876 in Ibb.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ibb $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,454 in Ibb.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ibb $1,454

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,033 in Ibb.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ibb $2,033

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 37% more expensive than in Ibb, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Ibb 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.44 YER 1,519

69.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$18.83 YER 4,442

130.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.28 YER 2,189

26.94%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 YER 480

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 YER 585

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.78 YER 891

0.79%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.12 YER 265

14.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.46 YER 108

69.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.96 YER 463

-28.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.98 YER 231

126.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.06 YER 485

-31.07%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.69 YER 871

-31.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$13.94 YER 3,287

-47.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$8.14 YER 1,921

-5.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$19.05 YER 4,493

-33.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.30 YER 778

-15.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.00 YER 236

37.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.15 YER 508

18.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.72 YER 405

23.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.54 YER 362

25.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.37 YER 322

37.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.88 YER 207

30.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.63 YER 148

87.30%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.51 YER 591

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 439

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 YER 596

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.93 YER 927

9.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$2.13 YER 503

133.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.69 YER 636

23.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.43 YER 1,753

-27.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.06 YER 487

-30.10%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$16.8K YER 4.0M

22.90%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$34.8K YER 8.2M

-32.53%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$62.4 YER 14.7K

35.95%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$15.86 YER 3,741

47.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$29.91 YER 7,054

-4.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.05 YER 1,426

-15.04%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$24.36 YER 5,747

747.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$2,204 YER 519.9K

78.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$29.62 YER 6,986

46.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$121 YER 28.4K

-65.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$48.16 YER 11.4K

54.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$40.48 YER 9,549

120.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$319 YER 75.2K

207.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$252 YER 59.4K

51.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$748 YER 176.4K

128.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$640 YER 150.9K

68.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$361 YER 85.1K

103.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.25

1.78%

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 Ibb: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ibb

$252 28.7% 33.9% $129

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ibb

$250 28.6% 1.8% $4.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ibb

$131 15% 35.3% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ibb

$108 12.3% 21% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ibb

$107 12.3% 3.8% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ibb

$12 * 1.4% 82% $55

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ibb

$16 * 1.8% 69.1% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $319 in Ibb. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $19 in Ibb for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $250 per month, with Ibb cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇾🇪 Ibb

🕒 Local time

23:09 11:09 PM

07:09 7:09 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

208,844

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 263 YER (1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ibb 13,450 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ibb

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 Ibb: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ibb is about 27% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2 times higher, 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $319 in Ibb. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibb – a meal for two runs $19 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $24 in Ibb. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $876 in Ibb versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ibb but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ibb the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Ibb wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.