Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sanaa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,023 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
Learn more

Sanaa Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,023

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,023 in Sanaa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sanaa $1,023

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,619 in Sanaa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sanaa $1,619

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,216 in Sanaa, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sanaa $2,216

Playa del Carmen costs about 18% more than Sanaa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sanaa are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sanaa 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$6.45 YER 1,520

69.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$25.52 YER 6,020

69.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.76 YER 2,301

20.70%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 YER 460

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 YER 616

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.79 YER 895

0.53%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$1.18 YER 278

8.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.59 YER 140

32.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.06 YER 487

-31.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.64 YER 386

35.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.01 YER 475

-29.35%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.76 YER 886

-32.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$17.06 YER 4,023

-57.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$8.44 YER 1,990

-8.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$19.00 YER 4,482

-33.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.27 YER 771

-14.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.01 YER 238

35.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.16 YER 509

18.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.73 YER 408

22.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.51 YER 357

28.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.33 YER 314

42.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.20 YER 284

-4.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.64 YER 152

84.37%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.55 YER 602

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 YER 425

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 YER 615

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$5.54 YER 1,306

-22.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.41 YER 95.6

34.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$84.8 YER 20.0K

-68.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$4.21 YER 992

18.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.16 YER 510

54.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.21 YER 1,701

-25.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.12 YER 500

-32.08%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$16.7K YER 3.9M

23.94%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$34.4K YER 8.1M

-31.87%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$109 YER 25.6K

-21.93%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$23.21 YER 5,475

0.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$100 YER 23.7K

-71.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$66.2 YER 15.6K

-13.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$16.55 YER 3,904

74.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.02 YER 1,420

-14.62%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$117 YER 27.5K

77.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$2,184 YER 515.0K

79.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$41.59 YER 9,810

4.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$123 YER 28.9K

-66.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$48.01 YER 11.3K

54.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$41.10 YER 9,694

117.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$219 YER 51.7K

346.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$93.7 YER 22.1K

306.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$413 YER 97.3K

313.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$274 YER 64.6K

292.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$4,087 YER 963.9K

-3.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$795 YER 187.5K

674.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$190 YER 44.8K

287.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

11.25

1.78%

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 Sanaa: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sanaa

$94 9.2% 75.4% $287

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sanaa

$270 26.4% 5.9% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sanaa

$133 13.1% 34% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sanaa

$232 22.7% 69.7% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sanaa

$114 11.1% 2% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sanaa

$78 7.7% 16.2% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sanaa

$101 9.9% 101% $51

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $219 in Sanaa. 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 3.9 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 $26 in Sanaa. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $270 in Sanaa – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🕒 Local time

09:32 9:32 AM

17:32 5:32 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,527,861 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 263 YER (1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sanaa 13,360 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sanaa

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 Sanaa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 18%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,534 in Sanaa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sanaa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $219 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,023 in Sanaa. That makes Sanaa about 15% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 69% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,023 in Sanaa. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Sanaa – 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 Sanaa. 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.