Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sur

For one person, living is cheaper in Sur: $1,149 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $660 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Sur
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Sur Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sur

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,149 in Sur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sur $1,149

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,653 in Sur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sur $1,653

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,156 in Sur, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sur $2,156

Playa del Carmen costs about 5% more than Sur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sur are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sur 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.88 OMR 1.49

181.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$25.96 OMR 9.99

67.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.63 OMR 2.94

54.39%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.05 OMR 1.94

-24.55%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.73 OMR 0.28

75.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.27 OMR 0.10

188.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$12.80 OMR 4.93

-75.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$12.79 OMR 4.92

-61.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.59 OMR 0.61

-11.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.23 OMR 0.48

80.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.73 OMR 0.66

-17.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.95 OMR 0.75

29.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.19 OMR 2.77

0.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.81 OMR 2.62

13.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$8.99 OMR 3.46

41.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.35 OMR 0.91

18.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.28 OMR 0.49

7.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.06 OMR 0.41

140.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$0.80 OMR 0.31

165.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.76 OMR 0.29

155.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.54 OMR 0.21

250.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.55 OMR 0.60

-25.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.53 OMR 0.21

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$6.38 OMR 2.45

-32.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$15.86 OMR 6.11

-37.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$6.10 OMR 2.35

-74.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$10.30 OMR 3.96

-74.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.32 OMR 1.28

49.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.61 OMR 1.01

27.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.74 OMR 2.98

-30.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.53 OMR 0.20

171.70%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$24.7K OMR 9,491

-16.17%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$20.7K OMR 7,965

13.43%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$77.7 OMR 29.90

9.17%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$23.09 OMR 8.89

1.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$69.7 OMR 26.85

-58.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$86.3 OMR 33.21

-33.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$10.25 OMR 3.95

-49.85%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$502 OMR 193

-58.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,458 OMR 2,486

-39.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$56.9 OMR 21.89

-23.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$44.07 OMR 16.97

-5.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$88.9 OMR 34.23

-16.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$88.4 OMR 34.01

1.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$257 OMR 99.0

280.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$271 OMR 104

40.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$467 OMR 180

266.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$385 OMR 148

179.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$583 OMR 224

576.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$515 OMR 198

1096.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,660 OMR 1,024

-72.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.25

118.10%

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 Sur: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sur

$271 23.5% 29% $110

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sur

$252 21.9% 1.1% $2.8

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sur

$208 18.1% 2.9% $5.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sur

$170 14.8% 24.6% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sur

$125 10.9% 12.1% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sur

$107 9.3% 58.6% $39

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sur

$16 * 1.4% 67.5% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $257 in Sur. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sur are about 3.6 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $26 in Sur. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $252 – making Sur the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇴🇲 Sur

🕒 Local time

15:34 3:34 PM

00:34 12:34 AM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

120,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.429 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sur 14,000 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sur

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 Sur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,724 in Sur. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sur, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $257 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $26 in Sur. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $502 in Sur. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,149 in Sur, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,149 in Sur to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.