Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Khafji

For one person, living is cheaper in Khafji: $674 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Khafji
Learn more

Khafji Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Khafji

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $674 in Khafji.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Khafji $674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,058 in Khafji.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Khafji $1,058

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,443 in Khafji.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Khafji $1,443

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 79% more expensive than in Khafji, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Khafji 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$3.24 SAR 12.15

237.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.45 SAR 129

25.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$4.96 SAR 18.62

137.50%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.91 SAR 3.40

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 SAR 5.93

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.87 SAR 10.76

32.75%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.79 SAR 2.95

62.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.21 SAR 0.77

271.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.75 SAR 6.56

-19.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.27 SAR 4.78

74.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.96 SAR 7.37

-27.55%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.12 SAR 7.96

18.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.52 SAR 28.21

-3.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.80 SAR 29.26

-1.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$12.98 SAR 48.69

-2.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.30 SAR 8.61

20.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.66 SAR 6.21

-17.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.64 SAR 6.14

55.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.61 SAR 6.05

31.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.11 SAR 4.17

74.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.21 SAR 4.54

56.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.28 SAR 4.81

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.59 SAR 2.21

100.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.25 SAR 15.95

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.60

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 SAR 8.12

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$7.68 SAR 28.82

-44.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.74 SAR 10.26

81.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.64 SAR 9.89

26.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$13.27 SAR 49.79

-59.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$0.61 SAR 2.29

136.07%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$29.5K SAR 110.5K

-29.86%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$21.4K SAR 80.4K

9.43%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$131 SAR 490

-35.05%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$32.28 SAR 121

-27.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$62.6 SAR 235

-54.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$13.20 SAR 49.54

-61.06%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$136 SAR 510

51.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$3,927 SAR 14.7K

0.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$42.57 SAR 160

1.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$49.96 SAR 187

-17.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$97.0 SAR 364

-23.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$89.8 SAR 337

-0.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$664 SAR 2,492

47.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.9

94.07%

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 Khafji: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Khafji

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Khafji

$201 29.8% 21.1% $54

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Khafji

$79 11.8% 60.9% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Khafji

$225 33.5% 64.7% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Khafji

$126 18.7% 12.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Khafji

$26 * 3.9% 60.8% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Khafji

$16 * 2.4% 68.4% $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 $664 in Khafji. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $34 in Khafji for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $201 per month, with Khafji cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Khafji

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

06:09 6:09 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

67,012

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 SAR = 0.267 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.267 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Khafji 12,770 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Khafji

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 Khafji: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Khafji is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,010 in Khafji 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 $664 in Khafji. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $136 in Khafji. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Khafji – a meal for two runs $34 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $674 in Khafji versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Khafji but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Khafji 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.