Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nablus

For one person, living is cheaper in Nablus: $1,119 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Nablus
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Nablus Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Nablus

🇵🇸 Palestine

$1,119

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,119 in Nablus.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Nablus $1,119

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,386 in Nablus.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Nablus $2,386

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,653 in Nablus.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Nablus $3,653

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 8% more expensive than in Nablus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Nablus 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$7.28 ₪22.65

47.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$38.30 ₪119

12.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$11.47 ₪35.69

2.79%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.24 ₪10.07

19.44%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.03 ₪3.20

33.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.64 ₪1.99

31.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$4.61 ₪14.33

-32.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.90 ₪15.25

3.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.26 ₪7.02

-36.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.82 ₪2.56

171.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$3.29 ₪10.24

-55.32%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.10 ₪6.54

20.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$12.89 ₪40.11

-43.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$11.55 ₪35.92

-31.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$19.41 ₪60.4

-34.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.20 ₪9.95

-9.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.54 ₪7.90

-43.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.97 ₪6.13

29.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.99 ₪6.20

3.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.01 ₪3.15

98.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.94 ₪2.91

113.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.66 ₪5.15

-28.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.94 ₪2.92

34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$9.88 ₪30.75

-55.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.61 ₪5.02

-64.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$6.61 ₪20.57

-24.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.85 ₪8.87

-48.42%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$52.5K ₪163.3K

-60.01%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$47.0K ₪146.2K

-49.13%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$89.0 ₪277

-5.34%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$38.88 ₪121

-38.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$65.4 ₪203

-55.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$81.8 ₪254

-22.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$38.61 ₪120

-24.53%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$11.31 ₪35.20

-56.32%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$257 ₪798

-20.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$3,949 ₪12.3K

-0.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$49.08 ₪153

-11.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$71.8 ₪223

-39.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$115 ₪357

-33.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$65.7 ₪205

34.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$292 ₪907

245.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$223 ₪695

67.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,118 ₪3,480

52.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,640 ₪5,102

-32.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$844 ₪2,626

367.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$628 ₪1,954

882.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$735 ₪2,287

2.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.3

81.75%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nablus: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Nablus

$223 20% 40.3% $151

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Nablus

$279 * 24.9% 7.9% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Nablus

$171 15.3% 15.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Nablus

$193 17.3% 40.8% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Nablus

$136 12.1% 20% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Nablus

$104 9.3% 43.3% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Nablus

$13 * 1.2% 75.2% $40

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 $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $292 in Nablus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 3% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $38.00 in Nablus. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $279, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇵🇸 Nablus

🕒 Local time

05:09 5:09 AM

13:09 1:09 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

130,326

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ILS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nablus 11,520 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nablus

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 Nablus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nablus is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and transport. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $292 in Nablus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,119 in Nablus – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,119 in Nablus versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nablus but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Nablus the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nablus is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Nablus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.