Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lusail

For one person, living is cheaper in Lusail: $753 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

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

Cost of Living Index in Lusail
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Lusail Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lusail

🇶🇦 Qatar

$753

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $753 in Lusail, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Lusail $753

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,277 in Lusail, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lusail $1,277

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,800 in Lusail, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Lusail $1,800

Playa del Carmen costs about 60% more than Lusail, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Lusail are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Lusail 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$8.19 QAR 29.81

30.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$69.1 QAR 252

-36.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$8.37 QAR 30.46

40.86%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.11 QAR 29.52

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.60 QAR 34.93

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$5.50 QAR 20.00

-31.09%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.79 QAR 2.86

64.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.28 QAR 1.03

196.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.10 QAR 7.64

-32.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.37 QAR 4.99

60.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.38 QAR 5.02

6.52%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$3.22 QAR 11.73

-22.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$11.30 QAR 41.12

-35.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$8.45 QAR 30.77

-5.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$11.51 QAR 41.88

11.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.26 QAR 8.22

28.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.77 QAR 6.44

-22.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.64 QAR 5.95

51.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.52 QAR 1.91

290.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.52 QAR 1.90

288.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.53 QAR 1.92

258.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.44 QAR 5.26

-20.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.50 QAR 1.84

148.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.80 QAR 35.68

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 QAR 7.18

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 QAR 8.30

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$6.67 QAR 24.26

-35.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.96 QAR 7.12

142.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.88 QAR 6.84

72.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$13.81 QAR 50.3

-60.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.59 QAR 2.13

159.32%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$24.1K QAR 87.7K

-11.99%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$21.6K QAR 78.6K

7.71%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$90.5 QAR 330

-7.78%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$34.47 QAR 125

-32.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$89.0 QAR 324

-68.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$12.30 QAR 44.78

-59.35%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$732 QAR 2,665

-71.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$16.8K QAR 61.3K

-68.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$62.6 QAR 228

-30.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$48.66 QAR 177

-12.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$98.1 QAR 357

-25.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$85.2 QAR 310

3.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,365 QAR 4,969

-39.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.92

93.41%

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 Lusail: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Lusail

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Lusail

$209 27.8% 18.7% $48

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Lusail

$161 21.4% 19.7% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Lusail

$214 28.4% 59.3% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Lusail

$133 17.6% 19.2% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Lusail

$25 * 3.3% 63% $42

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lusail

$11 * 1.5% 77.5% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 64% higher in Lusail, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $69 in Lusail. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $209 in Lusail – so Lusail wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇶🇦 Lusail

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

07:06 7:06 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

198,600

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

QAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 QAR (1 QAR = 0.244 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lusail 13,220 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lusail

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 Lusail: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $753 in Lusail – Lusail comes out roughly 37% 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 $1,129 in Lusail. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $69 in Lusail. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 23% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Lusail, where all-in costs run around $753, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Lusail it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Lusail costs $753 versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.