Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Taif

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,271 in Taif, rent and utilities included – about $830 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Taif outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Taif
Learn more

Taif Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Taif

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,271

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,271 in Taif, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Taif $1,271

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,863 in Taif, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Taif $1,863

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,456 in Taif, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Taif $2,456

Playa del Carmen is about 5% cheaper than Taif, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Playa del Carmen and Taif are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Taif 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$5.39 SAR 20.22

97.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$37.10 SAR 139

18.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$7.55 SAR 28.35

56.16%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 SAR 8.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$2.20 SAR 8.27

72.27%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$0.63 SAR 2.37

106.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.22 SAR 0.81

277.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.81 SAR 6.80

-22.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$0.28 SAR 1.05

685.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$2.33 SAR 8.74

-36.91%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$2.68 SAR 10.05

-6.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$5.82 SAR 21.83

25.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$6.93 SAR 26.01

14.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$9.46 SAR 35.52

35.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$2.45 SAR 9.19

18.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$1.75 SAR 6.56

-21.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$1.82 SAR 6.82

36.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.87 SAR 7.02

8.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.34 SAR 5.04

50.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.44 SAR 5.41

31.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$0.91 SAR 3.42

25.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$0.78 SAR 2.92

58.97%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.01 SAR 11.32

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 SAR 5.38

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 SAR 7.75

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$6.98 SAR 26.20

-38.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$1.07 SAR 4.03

-52.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$37.71 SAR 142

-27.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$1.36 SAR 5.11

250.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$1.96 SAR 7.34

65.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$9.54 SAR 35.80

-43.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$0.64 SAR 2.40

139.06%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$26.8K SAR 100.6K

-20.83%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$21.4K SAR 80.5K

8.47%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$141 SAR 530

-40.86%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$27.63 SAR 104

-16.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$68.4 SAR 257

-59.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$143 SAR 538

-60.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$13.26 SAR 49.75

112.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$19.64 SAR 73.7

-74.54%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$187 SAR 701

10.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$3,348 SAR 12.6K

56.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$41.65 SAR 156

4.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$50.6 SAR 190

-15.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$94.2 SAR 354

-22.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$86.6 SAR 325

2.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$569 SAR 2,136

74.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$399 SAR 1,496

-4.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$897 SAR 3,366

86.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$610 SAR 2,288

77.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$1,992 SAR 7,478

96.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,188 SAR 4,459

416.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$1,573 SAR 5,905

-47.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.54

106.68%

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 Taif: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Taif

$399 31.4% 4.2% $16

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Taif

$181 14.2% 29.8% $77

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Taif

$96 7.5% 52.3% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Taif

$237 18.7% 76.6% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Taif

$123 9.7% 10.5% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Taif

$183 14.4% 175% $116

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Taif

$53 4.2% 5.4% $2.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $569 in Taif. 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 89% higher in Taif. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $37 in Taif. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $181 – making Taif the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇦 Taif

🕒 Local time

11:18 11:18 AM

19:18 7:18 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

579,970

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Taif 12,650 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Taif

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 Taif: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Taif is pricier by about 6%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,906 in Taif. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taif, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $569 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,271 in Taif. That makes Playa del Carmen about 5% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 27% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,271 in Taif, 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 $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,271 in Taif. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Taif makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.