Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zahlah

For one person, living is cheaper in Zahlah: $997 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Zahlah
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Zahlah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Zahlah

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$997

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $997 in Zahlah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Zahlah $997

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,599 in Zahlah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Zahlah $1,599

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,201 in Zahlah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Zahlah $2,201

Playa del Carmen costs about 21% more than Zahlah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Playa del Carmen and Zahlah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Zahlah 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$11.97 LBP 1.1M

-10.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$69.5 LBP 6.2M

-38.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$9.85 LBP 881.9K

19.70%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.50 LBP 402.9K

-14.00%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.40 LBP 214.6K

-42.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.91 LBP 81.3K

-7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$5.01 LBP 448.5K

-38.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$4.83 LBP 432.6K

4.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.94 LBP 173.8K

-25.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$0.87 LBP 77.6K

156.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.24 LBP 200.7K

-34.38%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.55 LBP 317.8K

-28.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$11.24 LBP 1.0M

-35.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$10.46 LBP 935.8K

-24.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.81 LBP 1.3M

-13.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.01 LBP 269.1K

-3.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.65 LBP 147.4K

-12.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.62 LBP 144.8K

57.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.48 LBP 132.1K

39.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.26 LBP 112.9K

58.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.61 LBP 143.7K

24.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.16 LBP 104.2K

2.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.71 LBP 63.8K

77.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.93 LBP 262.0K

50.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$10.80 LBP 966.9K

-11.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.27 LBP 113.3K

25.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$2.47 LBP 220.9K

13.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.86 LBP 435.3K

2.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.24 LBP 200.1K

56.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$22.27 LBP 2.0M

-75.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.04 LBP 93.3K

41.35%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$54.2K LBP 4.8B

-61.27%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$32.3K LBP 2.9B

-26.00%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$233 LBP 20.9M

-63.92%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$22.43 LBP 2.0M

6.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$37.64 LBP 3.4M

-22.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$9.81 LBP 878.1K

-49.64%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$675 LBP 60.4M

-69.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.5K LBP 936.1M

-62.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$67.0 LBP 6.0M

-34.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$48.56 LBP 4.3M

-11.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$138 LBP 12.3M

-45.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$119 LBP 10.6M

-25.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.09%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Zahlah: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Zahlah

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Zahlah

$274 27.4% 5.8% $15

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Zahlah

$227 22.8% 12.4% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Zahlah

$294 29.4% 114% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Zahlah

$167 16.8% 48.2% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Zahlah

$20 * 2% 73.1% $53

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Zahlah

$16 * 1.6% 69.5% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $70.0 in Zahlah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $274 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇧 Zahlah

🕒 Local time

22:03 10:03 PM

06:03 6:03 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

78,145

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,618 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zahlah 11,470 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zahlah

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 Zahlah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 21%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,496 in Zahlah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $997 in Zahlah. That's a gap of about 21%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $675 in Zahlah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Zahlah, where all-in costs run around $997, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Zahlah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zahlah – 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 Zahlah. 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.