Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ras al-Khaimah

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,840 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Ras al-Khaimah
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Ras al-Khaimah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Ras al-Khaimah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ras al-Khaimah

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 Ras al-Khaimah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,840 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Ras al-Khaimah $1,840

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,803 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Ras al-Khaimah $2,803

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,767 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Ras al-Khaimah $3,767

Playa del Carmen is about 34% cheaper than Ras al-Khaimah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Ras al-Khaimah is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$13.76 AED 50.5

-21.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$40.26 AED 148

6.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$7.53 AED 27.64

56.57%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$5.51 AED 20.22

-29.76%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.11 AED 4.08

23.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.48 AED 1.76

75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$10.16 AED 37.32

-69.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$9.70 AED 35.63

-47.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.63 AED 6.00

-11.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.08 AED 7.65

7.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.96 AED 7.20

-25.00%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.35 AED 8.62

7.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$12.68 AED 46.57

-42.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$9.95 AED 36.56

-21.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$15.46 AED 56.8

-17.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.01 AED 7.39

44.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.67 AED 6.14

-13.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.55 AED 5.69

64.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.36 AED 4.98

51.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.96 AED 3.54

108.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.87 AED 3.20

131.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.74 AED 6.39

-31.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.44 AED 1.61

186.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$6.97 AED 25.61

-36.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$13.58 AED 49.89

-29.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.63 AED 9.66

-39.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.88 AED 10.56

-2.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.12 AED 7.80

-73.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$114 AED 419

-75.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.69 AED 6.21

194.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.80 AED 2.93

337.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$8.16 AED 29.96

-33.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.93 AED 3.41

58.06%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$45.8K AED 168.2K

-54.18%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$22.3K AED 82.0K

7.05%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$121 AED 444

-30.38%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$44.73 AED 164

-46.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$79.4 AED 291

-63.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$57.9 AED 213

8.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$40.22 AED 148

-27.55%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$12.72 AED 46.70

-61.16%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$299 AED 1,099

-31.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$4,462 AED 16.4K

-11.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$80.6 AED 296

-45.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$53.1 AED 195

-18.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$119 AED 438

-36.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$117 AED 430

-24.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$767 AED 2,819

31.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$657 AED 2,413

-43.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,660 AED 6,095

2.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,243 AED 4,563

-10.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$5,007 AED 18.4K

-21.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,962 AED 7,207

214.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,577 AED 5,791

-52.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.92

132.72%

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 Ras al-Khaimah: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Ras al-Khaimah

$657 35.7% 75.7% $283

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Ras al-Khaimah

$285 15.5% 10.1% $26

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Ras al-Khaimah

$275 15% 36.1% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Ras al-Khaimah

$245 13.3% 78.6% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Ras al-Khaimah

$167 9.1% 47.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Ras al-Khaimah

$83 4.5% 14.3% $10

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Ras al-Khaimah

$128 7% 144% $76

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $767 in Ras al-Khaimah. 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 109% higher in Ras al-Khaimah, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $40.00 in Ras al-Khaimah. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $285 in Ras al-Khaimah – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇪 Ras al-Khaimah

🕒 Local time

02:22 2:22 AM

11:22 11:22 AM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

241,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, 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).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ras al-Khaimah 13,490 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ras al-Khaimah

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 Ras al-Khaimah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ras al-Khaimah is pricier by about 52%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,760 in Ras al-Khaimah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,840 in Ras al-Khaimah. That's a gap of about 52%.

Public transport costs about 311% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Ras al-Khaimah at $1,840. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ras al-Khaimah it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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 Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ras al-Khaimah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.