Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Manama

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,561 in Manama, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
Learn more

Manama Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,561 in Manama.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Manama $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,442 in Manama.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Manama $2,442

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,323 in Manama.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Manama $3,323

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 23% less than in Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Manama is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$5.17 BHD 1.93

111.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$53.4 BHD 19.97

-18.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.22 BHD 2.70

63.16%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$5.01 BHD 1.88

-23.95%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.88 BHD 0.33

45.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.32 BHD 0.12

143.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$6.48 BHD 2.42

-51.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$10.09 BHD 3.78

-51.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.39 BHD 0.52

1.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.05 BHD 0.39

111.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.33 BHD 0.87

-39.06%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.22 BHD 0.83

13.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.62 BHD 3.22

-15.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$6.58 BHD 2.46

17.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$8.38 BHD 3.13

51.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.39 BHD 0.89

16.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.31 BHD 0.86

-40.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.94 BHD 0.73

31.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.38 BHD 0.52

53.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.01 BHD 0.38

92.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.36 BHD 0.51

38.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.56 BHD 0.58

-26.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.84 BHD 0.32

40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$5.26 BHD 1.97

-18.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$18.18 BHD 6.80

-45.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$3.63 BHD 1.36

-56.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.66 BHD 1.00

0.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.78 BHD 0.29

-29.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$36.65 BHD 13.71

-27.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$5.18 BHD 1.94

-4.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$3.42 BHD 1.28

-2.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$15.82 BHD 5.92

-66.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.66 BHD 0.25

118.18%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$25.9K BHD 9,671

-20.08%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$19.3K BHD 7,234

21.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$153 BHD 57.1

-44.43%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$24.67 BHD 9.23

-5.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$35.29 BHD 13.20

-18.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$68.9 BHD 25.77

-17.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$30.13 BHD 11.27

-4.05%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$10.78 BHD 4.03

-52.32%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$622 BHD 233

-66.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$10.9K BHD 4,091

-64.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$50.1 BHD 18.74

-13.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$58.0 BHD 21.71

-28.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$89.1 BHD 33.32

-16.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$88.7 BHD 33.16

0.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,004 BHD 376

-2.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$638 BHD 239

-40.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,052 BHD 767

-16.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,303 BHD 487

-17.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,590 BHD 969

52.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,974 BHD 738

211.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,384 BHD 892

-69.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.21

84.38%

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 Manama: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Manama

$638 40.9% 67.5% $257

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Manama

$249 16% 2.3% $5.9

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Manama

$181 11.6% 10.8% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Manama

$213 13.6% 55.3% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Manama

$129 8.2% 15.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Manama

$90 5.8% 34.4% $23

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Manama

$62 4% 23% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,004 in Manama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $53 in Manama. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $249, with Manama cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

00:02 12:02 AM

08:02 8:02 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.418 BHD (1 BHD = 2.39 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Manama 13,090 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Manama

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Manama. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 69% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,004 in Manama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 27% less than in Manama. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,561 in Manama – Playa del Carmen is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,561 in Manama, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Manama. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Manama on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.