Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Imbabah

For one person, living is cheaper in Imbabah: $383 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Imbabah
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Imbabah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Imbabah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$383

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $383 in Imbabah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Imbabah $383

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $627 in Imbabah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Imbabah $627

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $872 in Imbabah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Imbabah $872

Playa del Carmen costs about 214% more than Imbabah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Imbabah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Imbabah 72% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$3.98 E£220

168.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$17.54 E£970

149.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.55 E£252

159.12%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.19 E£65.7

218.49%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.30 E£16.72

333.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.10 E£5.41

730.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.22 E£67.7

158.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.71 E£150

81.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.55 E£30.51

156.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.15 E£8.48

1366.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.55 E£30.63

167.27%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.10 E£60.6

127.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$1.37 E£75.7

432.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$2.91 E£161

173.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$6.13 E£339

109.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.44 E£79.8

101.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.42 E£23.43

228.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.37 E£20.68

572.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.21 E£11.37

866.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.23 E£12.64

778.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.30 E£16.74

533.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.09 E£5.18

1166.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.19 E£10.72

552.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$1.56 E£86.0

173.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$1.74 E£96.2

463.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.17 E£64.9

35.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.76 E£97.3

56.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.19 E£10.37

168.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$13.10 E£724

109.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.20 E£11.05

2280.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.15 E£8.48

2066.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.11 E£61.3

385.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.20 E£11.04

665.00%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$32.2K E£1.8M

-34.02%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$24.5K E£1.4M

-5.12%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$12.32 E£681

577.68%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$6.54 E£362

254.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$12.22 E£676

125.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$15.37 E£850

267.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$2.59 E£143

93.05%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$21.66 E£1,197

856.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$904 E£50.0K

478.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$14.43 E£798

201.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$17.75 E£982

139.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$119 E£6,587

-38.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$53.2 E£2,941

66.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$127 E£7,022

683.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$71.4 E£3,945

435.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$247 E£13.6K

578.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$138 E£7,603

685.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$723 E£40.0K

440.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$328 E£18.1K

1770.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$87.5 E£4,839

850.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

21.33

-46.32%

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 Imbabah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Imbabah

$71 18.7% 81.3% $311

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Imbabah

$80 20.9% 69% $178

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Imbabah

$73 19.1% 63.6% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Imbabah

$31 8.1% 76.9% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Imbabah

$92 24.1% 17.2% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Imbabah

$21 5.4% 69.1% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Imbabah

$15 3.9% 70.6% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $127 in Imbabah. 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 9.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $18 in Imbabah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $80 – making Imbabah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇬 Imbabah

🕒 Local time

17:16 5:16 PM

00:16 12:16 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 55.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.83 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Imbabah 11,340 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Imbabah

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 Imbabah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $383 in Imbabah – Imbabah comes out roughly 68% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $574 in Imbabah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Imbabah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $127 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 223% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $18 in Imbabah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Imbabah, where all-in costs run around $383, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Imbabah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Imbabah – 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 Imbabah. 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.