Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ouarzazate

For one person, living is cheaper in Ouarzazate: $707 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Ouarzazate
Learn more

Ouarzazate Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Ouarzazate

🇲🇦 Morocco

$707

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $707 in Ouarzazate, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Ouarzazate $707

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,102 in Ouarzazate, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Ouarzazate $1,102

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,498 in Ouarzazate, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Ouarzazate $1,498

Playa del Carmen costs about 71% more than Ouarzazate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ouarzazate are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Ouarzazate 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$3.72 MAD 36.29

189.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$31.53 MAD 307

36.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$6.18 MAD 60.3

90.78%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.21 MAD 21.56

75.11%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.64 MAD 6.21

114.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.61 MAD 5.91

37.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$6.69 MAD 65.2

-53.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$5.40 MAD 52.7

-6.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$0.85 MAD 8.30

69.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.86 MAD 8.38

159.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.54 MAD 15.03

-4.55%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.56 MAD 15.24

62.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.76 MAD 75.7

-5.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$4.56 MAD 44.46

72.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$11.72 MAD 114

9.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$0.69 MAD 6.73

320.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.21 MAD 11.83

19.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$0.60 MAD 5.88

325.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$0.79 MAD 7.75

160.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.71 MAD 6.97

181.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.75 MAD 7.33

168.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.23 MAD 2.24

417.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.60 MAD 5.86

110.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.04 MAD 39.42

8.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$7.55 MAD 73.6

27.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.22 MAD 21.63

-28.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.27 MAD 31.85

-14.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.54 MAD 5.30

5.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$19.55 MAD 191

42.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.50 MAD 4.85

896.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.65 MAD 6.34

438.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$7.09 MAD 69.2

-23.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.42 MAD 13.88

3.52%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$33.6K MAD 327.5K

-37.53%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$29.7K MAD 289.5K

-19.48%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$35.55 MAD 347

136.88%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$4.94 MAD 48.17

385.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$26.25 MAD 256

10.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$26.66 MAD 260

136.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$22.51 MAD 220

29.45%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.39 MAD 62.3

-22.69%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$99.3 MAD 968

105.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$8,432 MAD 82.2K

-53.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$31.76 MAD 310

37.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$45.27 MAD 441

-4.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$83.9 MAD 817

-9.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$83.8 MAD 817

5.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$272 MAD 2,656

270.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$168 MAD 1,641

122.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$422 MAD 4,113

305.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$247 MAD 2,404

348.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,189 MAD 11.6K

231.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$821 MAD 8,001

651.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

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 10, 2026

Last update for Ouarzazate: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Ouarzazate

$168 23.8% 55% $206

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Ouarzazate

$172 24.4% 33.3% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Ouarzazate

$124 17.6% 38.7% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Ouarzazate

$67 9.5% 51.4% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Ouarzazate

$110 15.6% 2.5% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Ouarzazate

$39 5.6% 45.9% $33

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Ouarzazate

$25 3.6% 51.5% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $272 in Ouarzazate. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $32.00 in Ouarzazate. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $172 – making Ouarzazate the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇦 Ouarzazate

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

11:04 11:04 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

71,067

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ouarzazate 7,940 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ouarzazate

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 Ouarzazate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $707 in Ouarzazate – roughly 71% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,060 in Ouarzazate. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ouarzazate, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $99.3 in Ouarzazate. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% 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.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Ouarzazate, where all-in costs run around $707, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Ouarzazate it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $707 in Ouarzazate to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Ouarzazate. 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.