Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Khoy

For one person, living is cheaper in Khoy: $355 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 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
17

Cost of Living Index in Khoy
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Khoy Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Khoy

🇮🇷 Iran

$355

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $355 in Khoy.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Khoy $355

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $722 in Khoy.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Khoy $722

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,089 in Khoy.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Khoy $1,089

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 239% more expensive than in Khoy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Khoy 74% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$198

$1.80 $1.80

492.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$813

$14.99 $14.99

192.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$3.56 $3.56

231.18%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.77 $0.77

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 $1.25

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.3

$1.08 $1.08

250.93%

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

$1.30 MX$24.07

$0.52 $0.52

150.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.47

$1.11 $1.11

-25.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.14

$0.70 $0.70

101.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.75

$0.51 $0.51

331.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.33

$2.07 $2.07

-28.99%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.34

$1.25 $1.25

100.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$135

$4.51 $4.51

61.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.57 $3.57

122.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$10.07 $10.07

27.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.8

$1.01 $1.01

187.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.67

$1.43 $1.43

-3.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.23

$1.16 $1.16

114.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.67

$0.68 $0.68

198.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.58

$0.55 $0.55

267.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.32

$0.64 $0.64

196.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.24

$0.51 $0.51

123.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$22.99

$0.27 $0.27

359.26%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.79 $0.79

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 $1.41

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.3

$2.56 $2.56

66.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$182

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.43

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.56

$0.17 $0.17

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$508

$9.62 $9.62

184.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.4

$0.42 $0.42

1033.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$0.32 $0.32

915.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$2.98 $2.98

80.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.36

$0.10 $0.10

1430.00%

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

$21.2K MX$393.7K

$50.8K $50.8K

-58.24%

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

$23.3K MX$431.7K

$45.3K $45.3K

-48.67%

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

$83.5 MX$1,549

$12.78 $12.78

553.29%

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

$23.19 MX$430

$2.05 $2.05

1031.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$512

$3.82 $3.82

622.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,047

$18.62 $18.62

203.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$523

$14.17 $14.17

98.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$92.8

$2.04 $2.04

145.10%

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

$207 MX$3,843

$106 $106

94.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.1K

$2,677 $2,677

95.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$806

$22.95 $22.95

89.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$789

$28.37 $28.37

49.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,350

$97.1 $97.1

-25.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,640

$27.00 $27.00

227.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$90.7 $90.7

996.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,097

$60.6 $60.6

531.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.1K

$799 $799

109.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$361 $361

199.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.5K

$1,146 $1,146

241.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$113.9K

$527 $527

1064.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.4K

$213 $213

291.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

24.3

-52.88%

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 Khoy: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Khoy

$61 17.1% 84.2% $322

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Khoy

$117 32.9% 54.6% $141

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Khoy

$45 12.6% 77.7% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Khoy

$19 5.3% 86.1% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Khoy

$79 22.3% 29% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Khoy

$23 6.4% 65.8% $44

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Khoy

$12 3.5% 75.6% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $91 in Khoy. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $15 in Khoy for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $117 per month, with Khoy cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇮🇷 Khoy

🕒 Local time

14:06 2:06 PM

22:36 10:36 PM

8 h 30 min ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

198,845

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

USD USD

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.85 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Khoy 11,750 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Khoy

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 Khoy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $355 in Khoy, so Khoy is about 71% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 3.9 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $91 in Khoy. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Khoy – a meal for two runs $15 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $355 in Khoy – Khoy is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $355 in Khoy versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Khoy but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Khoy 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.

Expats usually find Khoy gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.