Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ifrane

For one person, living is cheaper in Ifrane: $744 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Ifrane
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Ifrane Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ifrane

🇲🇦 Morocco

$744

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $744 in Ifrane.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ifrane $744

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,112 in Ifrane.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Ifrane $1,112

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,481 in Ifrane.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Ifrane $1,481

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 62% more expensive than in Ifrane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Ifrane 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$3.43 MAD 33.43

216.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$11.13 MAD 108

297.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$7.28 MAD 71.0

61.54%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.20 MAD 11.75

206.67%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.70 MAD 6.85

91.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.36 MAD 3.53

127.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.52 MAD 24.59

21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.10 MAD 40.00

20.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.82 MAD 7.99

79.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.88 MAD 8.61

152.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.42 MAD 13.80

4.23%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.86 MAD 18.12

33.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.49 MAD 102

-28.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$7.40 MAD 72.2

7.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.94 MAD 116

5.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$0.97 MAD 9.49

186.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.12 MAD 10.90

27.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$0.78 MAD 7.64

235.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$0.50 MAD 4.86

328.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.60 MAD 5.81

236.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.43 MAD 4.19

362.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.49 MAD 4.81

132.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.54 MAD 5.28

122.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.09 MAD 39.92

4.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$8.32 MAD 81.1

20.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.37 MAD 23.07

-35.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.18 MAD 31.02

-16.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.55 MAD 5.32

-3.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$20.57 MAD 201

33.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.80 MAD 7.81

512.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.32 MAD 3.13

971.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$4.62 MAD 45.06

16.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.56 MAD 15.19

-7.05%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$31.1K MAD 302.8K

-31.88%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$30.5K MAD 297.2K

-24.48%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$51.3 MAD 501

66.26%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$10.12 MAD 98.7

131.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$42.05 MAD 410

-32.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$26.39 MAD 257

135.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$21.29 MAD 208

34.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.93 MAD 77.3

-35.69%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$99.4 MAD 969

102.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$5,786 MAD 56.4K

-31.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$61.2 MAD 597

-27.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$46.00 MAD 448

-10.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$92.3 MAD 900

-21.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$61.4 MAD 598

45.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$274 MAD 2,671

257.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$169 MAD 1,652

119.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$472 MAD 4,605

255.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$275 MAD 2,676

298.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,221 MAD 11.9K

223.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$821 MAD 8,006

647.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$279 MAD 2,719

164.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.83

137.06%

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 Ifrane: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Ifrane

$169 22.8% 54.5% $203

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Ifrane

$198 26.5% 23.5% $61

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Ifrane

$89 11.9% 55.6% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ifrane

$104 13.9% 24.6% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ifrane

$117 15.8% 5.2% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Ifrane

$42 5.7% 41.6% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Ifrane

$25 3.4% 51.3% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $274 in Ifrane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 164% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $11.00 in Ifrane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $198 per month, with Ifrane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇦 Ifrane

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

03:30 3:30 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

14,659

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ifrane 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ifrane

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 Ifrane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Ifrane differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $744 including rent). Ifrane is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 164% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $274 in Ifrane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ifrane runs roughly 34% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $99.4 in Ifrane. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $744 in Ifrane versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ifrane but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Ifrane 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Ifrane are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ifrane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.