Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zawiya

For one person, living is cheaper in Zawiya: $441 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Zawiya
Learn more

Zawiya Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Zawiya

🇱🇾 Libya

$441

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $441 in Zawiya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Zawiya $441

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $686 in Zawiya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Zawiya $686

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $930 in Zawiya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Zawiya $930

Playa del Carmen costs about 173% more than Zawiya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Zawiya are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Zawiya 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$2.30 LYD 14.76

374.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$15.47 LYD 99.3

180.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$2.71 LYD 17.41

334.69%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$0.44 LYD 2.83

765.91%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.44 LYD 2.85

190.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.11 LYD 0.71

609.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$0.91 LYD 5.83

54.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$0.20 LYD 1.28

1010.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.01 LYD 6.51

40.59%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$1.35 LYD 8.67

86.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$4.74 LYD 30.43

53.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.57 LYD 22.92

115.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$8.86 LYD 56.9

43.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.02 LYD 12.94

37.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.47 LYD 9.45

-6.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$0.70 LYD 4.50

264.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$0.51 LYD 3.27

315.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.58 LYD 3.73

234.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.26 LYD 1.65

626.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.30 LYD 1.91

283.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.16 LYD 1.05

637.50%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.79 LYD 5.08

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.60

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 LYD 4.83

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$1.67 LYD 10.73

157.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.74 LYD 4.76

-25.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$39.22 LYD 252

-32.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.75 LYD 4.80

562.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.45 LYD 2.88

640.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.31 LYD 14.83

132.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$0.02 LYD 0.12

7100.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$15.5K LYD 99.5K

33.27%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$16.8K LYD 107.6K

39.96%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$94.4 LYD 606

-10.16%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$5.57 LYD 35.75

320.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$12.25 LYD 78.6

133.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$17.31 LYD 111

229.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$4.01 LYD 25.74

620.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$3.92 LYD 25.19

31.12%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$51.5 LYD 330

301.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$897 LYD 5,758

337.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$20.81 LYD 134

108.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$44.19 LYD 284

-6.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$30.99 LYD 199

139.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$31.62 LYD 203

182.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$88.9 LYD 570

1002.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$58.4 LYD 375

551.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$164 LYD 1,050

943.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$121 LYD 774

792.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$347 LYD 2,230

1034.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$98.1 LYD 630

6175.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$251 LYD 1,611

192.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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 Zawiya: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Zawiya

$58 13.2% 84.7% $322

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Zawiya

$109 24.7% 57.3% $146

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Zawiya

$34 7.7% 83.2% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Zawiya

$112 25.4% 18% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Zawiya

$57 13% 48.6% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Zawiya

$25 5.7% 62.6% $42

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Zawiya

$45 10.2% 10.4% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $89 in Zawiya. 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 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $15 in Zawiya. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $109 – making Zawiya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇱🇾 Zawiya

🕒 Local time

19:16 7:16 PM

02:16 2:16 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

318,726

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.42 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.15 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zawiya 9,650 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zawiya

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 Zawiya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 173%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $662 in Zawiya. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zawiya, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $89 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $441 in Zawiya. That makes Zawiya about 63% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 32% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Zawiya, where all-in costs run around $441, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Zawiya it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Zawiya. 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.