Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Oued Zem

For one person, living is cheaper in Oued Zem: $751 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Oued Zem
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Oued Zem Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Oued Zem

🇲🇦 Morocco

$751

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Oued Zem

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $751 in Oued Zem, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Oued Zem $751

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,196 in Oued Zem, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Oued Zem $1,196

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,640 in Oued Zem, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Oued Zem $1,640

Playa del Carmen costs about 60% more than Oued Zem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Oued Zem are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Oued Zem 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.18 MAD 41.18

161.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$41.10 MAD 405

5.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.11 MAD 70.0

65.68%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.93 MAD 19.03

97.41%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.57 MAD 5.59

124.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.36 MAD 3.58

116.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$4.95 MAD 48.75

-35.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$3.19 MAD 31.46

54.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.82 MAD 8.05

71.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.61 MAD 5.96

263.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.85 MAD 18.21

-23.24%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.95 MAD 19.18

29.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.22 MAD 111

-35.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.67 MAD 65.7

15.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$11.88 MAD 117

6.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.60 MAD 15.80

73.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.42 MAD 13.99

-3.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$0.89 MAD 8.77

186.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$0.82 MAD 8.08

158.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.71 MAD 7.03

173.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.79 MAD 7.74

139.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.39 MAD 3.86

194.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.61 MAD 5.97

93.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.23 MAD 41.63

1.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$7.23 MAD 71.2

37.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.56 MAD 25.25

-38.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.58 MAD 25.45

3.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.50 MAD 4.95

10.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$19.08 MAD 188

39.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.73 MAD 7.19

580.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.75 MAD 7.36

344.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$3.95 MAD 38.95

35.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.50 MAD 14.77

-4.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$29.9K MAD 294.5K

-30.88%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$32.7K MAD 322.5K

-28.35%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$36.51 MAD 360

132.24%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$9.90 MAD 97.5

136.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$33.95 MAD 334

-15.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$22.75 MAD 224

150.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$19.10 MAD 188

51.36%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.24 MAD 61.4

-17.63%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$181 MAD 1,779

14.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$9,550 MAD 94.1K

-58.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$47.28 MAD 466

-8.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$39.31 MAD 387

5.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$91.6 MAD 902

-18.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$66.5 MAD 655

34.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$314 MAD 3,096

211.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$185 MAD 1,824

105.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$476 MAD 4,686

258.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$283 MAD 2,788

279.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,129 MAD 11.1K

249.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$874 MAD 8,606

604.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$230 MAD 2,264

219.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.55

151.65%

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 Oued Zem: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Oued Zem

$185 24.7% 51.4% $196

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Oued Zem

$201 26.8% 21% $53

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Oued Zem

$113 15% 44.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Oued Zem

$80 10.7% 41.3% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Oued Zem

$110 14.7% 1.4% $1.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Oued Zem

$35 4.7% 47.7% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Oued Zem

$26 3.4% 49.3% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $314 in Oued Zem. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $41 in Oued Zem. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $201 – making Oued Zem the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇦 Oued Zem

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

23:08 11:08 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

95,267

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 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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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Oued Zem 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Oued Zem

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 Oued Zem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $751 in Oued Zem – Oued Zem comes out roughly 38% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,126 in Oued Zem. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Oued Zem, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $314 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $751 in Oued Zem. That makes Oued Zem about 38% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 28% less in Oued Zem. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Oued Zem, where all-in costs run around $751, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Oued Zem it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Oued Zem – 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 Oued Zem. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.