Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Marrakech

For one person, living is cheaper in Marrakech: $934 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Marrakech
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Marrakech Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Marrakech

🇲🇦 Morocco

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $934 in Marrakech, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Marrakech $934

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,350 in Marrakech, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Marrakech $1,350

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,766 in Marrakech, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Marrakech $1,766

Playa del Carmen costs about 29% more than Marrakech, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Marrakech are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Marrakech 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.81 MAD 37.51

186.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$30.09 MAD 296

44.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$5.98 MAD 58.9

96.99%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$2.34 MAD 23.04

62.82%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$1.85 MAD 18.22

-30.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$0.67 MAD 6.63

16.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$6.72 MAD 66.2

-52.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$5.58 MAD 55.0

-11.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$0.82 MAD 8.04

71.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$0.79 MAD 7.82

181.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$1.54 MAD 15.16

-7.79%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$1.97 MAD 19.45

27.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$7.72 MAD 76.0

-5.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.35 MAD 52.7

43.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$11.57 MAD 114

9.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$1.61 MAD 15.88

72.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.35 MAD 13.27

1.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$0.92 MAD 9.10

177.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$0.78 MAD 7.70

171.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$0.72 MAD 7.09

169.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$0.80 MAD 7.86

136.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$0.25 MAD 2.47

360.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.57 MAD 5.60

107.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$3.99 MAD 39.29

7.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$7.69 MAD 75.7

29.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$2.19 MAD 21.59

-27.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$3.23 MAD 31.77

-17.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

$0.39 MAD 3.85

41.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

$31.05 MAD 306

-14.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$0.86 MAD 8.43

477.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$0.60 MAD 5.89

455.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$6.98 MAD 68.8

-23.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$1.47 MAD 14.43

-2.04%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$30.3K MAD 298.3K

-31.76%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$30.8K MAD 303.3K

-23.79%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$35.37 MAD 348

139.72%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$8.80 MAD 86.7

166.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$36.26 MAD 357

-20.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

$28.33 MAD 279

101.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

$20.59 MAD 203

40.41%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$6.41 MAD 63.1

-19.81%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$99.4 MAD 980

107.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$8,210 MAD 80.9K

-52.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$31.09 MAD 306

39.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$43.39 MAD 427

-4.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$82.3 MAD 811

-9.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$80.1 MAD 789

11.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$518 MAD 5,103

89.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

$355 MAD 3,496

7.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

$720 MAD 7,093

137.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$449 MAD 4,424

139.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

$1,866 MAD 18.4K

111.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

$1,062 MAD 10.5K

479.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$489 MAD 4,819

50.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.5

154.44%

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 Marrakech: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Marrakech

$355 38% 6.8% $26

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Marrakech

$183 19.6% 28.2% $72

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Marrakech

$131 14.1% 35.1% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Marrakech

$80 8.6% 41.2% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Marrakech

$107 11.4% 4.6% $5.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Marrakech

$41 4.4% 38.9% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Marrakech

$36 3.9% 27.7% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $518 in Marrakech. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 50% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $30 in Marrakech. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $183 – making Marrakech the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇦 Marrakech

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

12:10 12:10 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,002,697

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MAD = 10.15 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.85 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Marrakech 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Marrakech

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 Marrakech: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 29%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,400 in Marrakech. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Marrakech, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $518 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $99 in Marrakech. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 39% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

Families tend to lean toward Marrakech – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Marrakech. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.