Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Janub-as-surrah

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Janub-as-surrah: $1,204 and $1,192 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Janub-as-surrah
Learn more

Janub-as-surrah Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Janub-as-surrah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,192

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,192 in Janub-as-surrah.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Janub-as-surrah $1,192

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,136 in Janub-as-surrah.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Janub-as-surrah $2,136

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,080 in Janub-as-surrah.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Janub-as-surrah $3,080

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Janub-as-surrah; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Janub-as-surrah 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$7.16 KWD 2.21

52.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$45.63 KWD 14.06

-4.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.05 KWD 2.48

46.34%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.88 KWD 0.89

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 KWD 0.89

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$4.68 KWD 1.44

-18.59%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.50 KWD 0.15

156.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.30 KWD 0.09

160.00%

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$26.40

$1.23 KWD 0.38

14.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.88 KWD 0.27

152.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$2.15 KWD 0.66

-33.95%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$2.24 KWD 0.69

12.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$4.56 KWD 1.41

59.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.76 KWD 1.78

33.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$10.47 KWD 3.23

21.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.23 KWD 0.69

24.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.63 KWD 0.50

-15.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.19 KWD 0.37

114.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$1.40 KWD 0.43

51.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.45 KWD 0.45

33.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.04 KWD 0.32

81.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.57 KWD 0.48

-26.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.47 KWD 0.15

151.06%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.78 KWD 0.86

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 KWD 0.29

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 KWD 0.39

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.69 KWD 0.83

59.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.91 KWD 0.28

-39.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.90 KWD 0.89

71.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$3.08 KWD 0.95

8.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$17.76 KWD 5.48

-69.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$0.35 KWD 0.11

311.43%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$24.0K KWD 7,381

-13.72%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$20.5K KWD 6,314

14.53%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$59.0 KWD 18.20

43.61%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$20.95 KWD 6.46

11.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$26.53 KWD 8.18

8.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$83.8 KWD 25.82

-31.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$10.02 KWD 3.09

-48.70%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$240 KWD 73.9

-13.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$7,958 KWD 2,453

-50.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$32.95 KWD 10.16

31.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$44.25 KWD 13.64

-6.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$109 KWD 33.52

-31.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$84.9 KWD 26.18

5.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$806 KWD 248

21.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$533 KWD 164

-28.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,847 KWD 569

-7.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,515 KWD 467

-29.04%

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

6.53

75.34%

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 Janub-as-surrah: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Janub-as-surrah

$533 44.8% 40.1% $153

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$164 13.7% 35.8% $91

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Janub-as-surrah

$141 11.8% 30.4% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Janub-as-surrah

$107 8.9% 22.2% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Janub-as-surrah

$122 10.2% 9.1% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Janub-as-surrah

$104 8.7% 54.2% $37

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$22 * 1.8% 56.6% $29

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 $806 in Janub-as-surrah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $46 in Janub-as-surrah. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $164, with Janub-as-surrah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇼 Janub-as-surrah

🕒 Local time

17:21 5:21 PM

01:21 1:21 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

18,496

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, 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).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Janub-as-surrah 12,670 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,788 in Janub-as-surrah 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $806 in Janub-as-surrah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $46 in Janub-as-surrah. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Janub-as-surrah is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.