Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Shubra Al Khaymah

For one person, living is cheaper in Shubra Al Khaymah: $421 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Shubra Al Khaymah
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Shubra Al Khaymah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Shubra Al Khaymah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$421

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Shubra Al Khaymah

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 Shubra Al Khaymah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $421 in Shubra Al Khaymah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Shubra Al Khaymah $421

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $690 in Shubra Al Khaymah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Shubra Al Khaymah $690

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $960 in Shubra Al Khaymah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Shubra Al Khaymah $960

Playa del Carmen costs about 186% more than Shubra Al Khaymah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Shubra Al Khaymah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Shubra Al Khaymah 69% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$4.06 E£225

162.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$17.94 E£992

144.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.36 E£241

170.41%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.23 E£68.1

208.13%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.28 E£15.29

364.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.10 E£5.57

730.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.22 E£67.4

158.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.12 E£117

132.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.82 E£45.24

71.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.62 E£34.24

254.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.56 E£31.12

162.50%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.10 E£61.0

127.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$3.55 E£197

105.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$4.12 E£228

92.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$8.74 E£483

47.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.39 E£76.7

108.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.72 E£40.04

91.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$0.49 E£27.08

408.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.30 E£16.53

576.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.25 E£13.87

708.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.30 E£16.63

533.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.25 E£13.87

356.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.21 E£11.75

490.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$1.76 E£97.0

142.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$5.18 E£286

89.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.17 E£64.7

35.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.95 E£108

41.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.17 E£9.30

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.35 E£19.32

1260.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.19 E£10.56

1610.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$1.11 E£61.1

385.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$0.40 E£21.95

282.50%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$32.0K E£1.8M

-33.64%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$23.9K E£1.3M

-2.55%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$13.22 E£731

531.54%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$6.48 E£358

257.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$12.33 E£682

123.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$14.90 E£824

278.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$2.69 E£148

85.87%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$80.1 E£4,428

158.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$1,948 E£107.7K

168.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$31.33 E£1,732

38.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$42.71 E£2,361

-0.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$106 E£5,835

-31.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$53.8 E£2,972

64.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$126 E£6,939

692.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$71.3 E£3,943

436.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$240 E£13.3K

597.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$134 E£7,434

703.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$702 E£38.8K

457.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$326 E£18.0K

1783.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

16.21

-29.36%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Shubra Al Khaymah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$71 16.9% 81.4% $311

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$118 28.1% 54.1% $139

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$72 17.2% 64% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$32 7.6% 76.1% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$105 24.9% 5.6% $6.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$20 4.8% 69.5% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Shubra Al Khaymah

$2 * 0.5% 96.1% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $126 in Shubra Al Khaymah. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $18 in Shubra Al Khaymah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $118 – making Shubra Al Khaymah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇪🇬 Shubra Al Khaymah

🕒 Local time

18:11 6:11 PM

01:11 1:11 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,016,722

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 55.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.83 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Shubra Al Khaymah 11,340 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Shubra Al Khaymah

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 Shubra Al Khaymah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 186%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $632 in Shubra Al Khaymah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Shubra Al Khaymah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $126 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $421 in Shubra Al Khaymah. That makes Shubra Al Khaymah about 65% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $80 in Shubra Al Khaymah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Shubra Al Khaymah, where all-in costs run around $421, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Shubra Al Khaymah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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