Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Settat

For one person, living is cheaper in Settat: $646 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Settat
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Settat Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Settat

🇲🇦 Morocco

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $646 in Settat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Settat $646

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,030 in Settat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Settat $1,030

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,415 in Settat, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Settat $1,415

Playa del Carmen costs about 87% more than Settat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Settat are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Settat 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$3.11 MAD 30.28

249.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$30.32 MAD 296

45.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$6.00 MAD 58.5

96.00%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.15 MAD 11.18

220.00%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.44 MAD 4.31

204.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.37 MAD 3.57

121.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.20 MAD 11.70

155.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$1.53 MAD 14.88

222.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.88 MAD 8.57

67.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$0.84 MAD 8.21

164.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.53 MAD 14.96

-3.27%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.90 MAD 18.55

31.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$7.85 MAD 76.6

-4.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$5.14 MAD 50.1

54.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.23 MAD 110

11.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$1.57 MAD 15.31

77.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.35 MAD 13.15

5.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$0.92 MAD 8.99

184.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$0.73 MAD 7.11

193.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.72 MAD 7.02

180.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.82 MAD 7.98

142.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.23 MAD 2.23

395.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.53 MAD 5.15

126.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.03 MAD 39.32

5.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$7.47 MAD 72.8

34.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.28 MAD 22.27

-32.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.29 MAD 32.05

-19.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.51 MAD 4.95

3.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$20.43 MAD 199

34.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.80 MAD 7.78

512.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.59 MAD 5.79

481.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$7.00 MAD 68.3

-23.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.51 MAD 14.76

-3.97%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$30.1K MAD 293.5K

-29.71%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$31.5K MAD 307.1K

-26.92%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$20.66 MAD 201

313.17%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$5.07 MAD 49.44

362.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$36.21 MAD 353

-21.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$18.64 MAD 182

233.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$21.14 MAD 206

35.67%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.57 MAD 64.1

-22.37%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$97.3 MAD 949

106.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$8,252 MAD 80.5K

-52.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$31.76 MAD 310

39.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$44.34 MAD 432

-6.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$80.6 MAD 786

-9.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$80.8 MAD 788

10.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$273 MAD 2,664

258.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$169 MAD 1,645

120.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$453 MAD 4,416

271.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$273 MAD 2,663

301.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,126 MAD 11.0K

250.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$883 MAD 8,607

595.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$206 MAD 2,012

257.40%

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 17, 2026

Last update for Settat: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Settat

$169 26.1% 54.7% $204

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Settat

$181 28.1% 29.9% $77

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Settat

$69 10.7% 65.6% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Settat

$62 9.6% 54.9% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Settat

$107 16.6% 4.3% $4.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Settat

$32 4.9% 56.1% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Settat

$26 4.1% 49.3% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $273 in Settat. 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 257% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $30.00 in Settat. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $181 – making Settat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇦 Settat

🕒 Local time

19:52 7:52 PM

01:52 1:52 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

142,250

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Settat 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Settat

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 Settat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 87%, 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 $968 in Settat. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Settat, 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $646 in Settat. That's a gap of about 87%.

Public transport costs about 35% less in Settat. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Settat, where all-in costs run around $646, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Settat it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Settat – 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 Settat. 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.