Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Skikda

For one person, living is cheaper in Skikda: $537 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Skikda, Algeria
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,202
/mo nomad
Skikda
🇩🇿 Algeria
$537
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $537 in Skikda, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,202
  • Skikda $537

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $874 in Skikda, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Skikda $874

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,210 in Skikda, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,962
  • Skikda $1,210

Playa del Carmen costs about 124% more than Skikda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Skikda are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Skikda 60% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.67 MX$199
$3.26 DZD 441
227.30%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.80 MX$815
$17.51 DZD 2,371
150.14%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.79 MX$219
$3.84 DZD 520
207.03%
Cappuccino
$3.79 MX$70.5
$0.69 DZD 93.4
449.28%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.30 MX$24.14
$0.39 DZD 52.2
233.33%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83 MX$15.51
$0.26 DZD 35.25
219.23%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.15 MX$58.6
$1.52 DZD 205
107.24%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$91.8
$2.12 DZD 287
132.55%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.22
$1.02 DZD 138
38.24%
White Bread (500g)
$2.20 MX$40.86
$0.17 DZD 22.98
1194.12%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.47 MX$27.40
$1.51 DZD 205
-2.65%
Eggs
$2.50 MX$46.46
$1.20 DZD 162
108.33%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.29 MX$136
$7.70 DZD 1,043
-5.32%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.95 MX$148
$4.38 DZD 593
81.51%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.86 MX$239
$13.07 DZD 1,769
-1.61%
Apples (1kg)
$2.90 MX$53.9
$2.04 DZD 276
42.16%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 MX$25.74
$2.69 DZD 363
-48.70%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.49 MX$46.35
$1.08 DZD 146
130.56%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.03 MX$37.77
$1.11 DZD 150
82.88%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 MX$37.68
$0.57 DZD 76.9
254.39%
Onion (1kg)
$1.90 MX$35.42
$0.45 DZD 60.8
322.22%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.14 MX$21.30
$0.41 DZD 55.9
178.05%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.24 MX$23.05
$0.27 DZD 36.86
359.26%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.27 MX$79.5
$2.69 DZD 364
58.74%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.81 MX$183
$6.80 DZD 921
44.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.59 MX$29.51
$1.27 DZD 172
25.20%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.75 MX$51.1
$1.87 DZD 253
47.06%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 MX$9.58
$0.17 DZD 22.46
200.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.39 MX$510
$6.57 DZD 890
316.89%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.76 MX$88.6
$0.98 DZD 133
385.71%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.25 MX$60.5
$0.40 DZD 54.2
712.50%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.39 MX$100
$5.26 DZD 712
2.47%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.53 MX$28.44
$0.31 DZD 41.31
393.55%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$394.8K
$31.1K DZD 4.2M
-31.86%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.3K MX$432.9K
$34.6K DZD 4.7M
-32.71%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.5 MX$1,554
$35.55 DZD 4,812
134.85%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.19 MX$431
$9.09 DZD 1,230
155.12%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.61 MX$514
$15.73 DZD 2,129
75.52%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$56.4 MX$1,050
$17.32 DZD 2,344
225.81%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.19 MX$525
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.00 MX$93.1
$4.38 DZD 593
14.16%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,854
$327 DZD 44.3K
-36.72%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,231 MX$97.3K
$4,869 DZD 659.1K
7.43%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.45 MX$809
$31.64 DZD 4,283
37.33%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.54 MX$792
$34.70 DZD 4,697
22.59%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$72.8 MX$1,354
$75.4 DZD 10.2K
-3.51%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,645
$111 DZD 15.0K
-20.09%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$995 MX$18.5K
$143 DZD 19.4K
593.36%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$382 MX$7,116
$91.7 DZD 12.4K
316.92%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,674 MX$31.2K
$268 DZD 36.3K
524.20%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,081 MX$20.1K
$199 DZD 26.9K
443.09%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,909 MX$72.7K
$960 DZD 130.0K
306.99%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,138 MX$114.2K
$1,043 DZD 141.1K
488.74%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Skikda
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$832 MX$15.5K
$272 DZD 36.8K
206.44%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
5.3
116.04%

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 Skikda: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$382
Skikda
$92 76% $291
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$257
Skikda
$174 32.3% $83
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$200
Skikda
$60 69.9% $140
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$134
Skikda
$60 55% $74
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$111
Skikda
$114 2.1% $2.4
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$66
Skikda
$26 60.7% $40
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Skikda
$10 79.7% $40

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $143 in Skikda. 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 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $18 in Skikda. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $174 – making Skikda the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇩🇿 Skikda
🕒 Local time
02:02 2:02 AM
08:02 8:02 AM
6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
163,618
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.39 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Skikda 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Skikda

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 Skikda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Skikda cheaper than Playa del Carmen?
Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 124%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $805 in Skikda. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Skikda, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $143 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Skikda?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $537 in Skikda. That makes Skikda about 55% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 76% less in Skikda. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Is $800 a realistic budget for living in Playa del Carmen or in Skikda?
A $800 monthly budget goes further in Skikda, where all-in costs run around $537, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Skikda it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is it better to live in Playa del Carmen or in Skikda?
It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $537 in Skikda to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Skikda. 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.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?