Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Rabat: $921 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
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Rabat Living Index
58

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

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Rabat

🇲🇦 Morocco

$921

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rabat and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $921 per month in Rabat vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Rabat $921
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,498 per month in Rabat vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Rabat $1,498
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,074 per month in Rabat vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Rabat $2,074
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Rabat is about 23% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Rabat and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Rabat 32% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.99 MAD 39.29

$10.92 MX$204

-63.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.46 MAD 408

$43.37 MX$808

-4.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.96 MAD 68.6

$11.78 MX$220

-40.92%

Cappuccino

$1.94 MAD 19.07

$3.81 MX$71.0

-49.08%

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

$0.53 MAD 5.26

$1.28 MX$23.90

-58.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MAD 3.61

$0.78 MX$14.59

-52.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 MAD 51.1

$3.17 MX$59.0

63.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 MAD 30.93

$4.93 MX$92.0

-36.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 MAD 8.86

$1.41 MX$26.22

-36.17%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 MAD 5.95

$2.22 MX$41.33

-72.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MAD 18.88

$1.42 MX$26.42

35.21%

Eggs

$1.86 MAD 18.27

$2.52 MX$47.03

-26.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.16 MAD 110

$7.26 MX$135

53.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 MAD 66.1

$7.70 MX$143

-12.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.08 MAD 119

$12.69 MX$237

-4.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.55 MAD 15.29

$2.78 MX$51.9

-44.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MAD 14.10

$1.37 MX$25.50

4.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.81 MAD 7.97

$2.55 MX$47.55

-68.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.82 MAD 8.12

$2.12 MX$39.58

-61.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 MAD 7.07

$1.94 MX$36.13

-62.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.75 MAD 7.37

$1.89 MX$35.16

-60.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.37 MAD 3.62

$1.15 MX$21.37

-67.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 MAD 6.23

$1.18 MX$21.98

-46.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 MAD 40.01

$4.30 MX$80.1

-5.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 MAD 72.2

$9.95 MX$185

-26.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 MAD 25.24

$1.58 MX$29.52

62.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 MAD 26.41

$2.67 MX$49.79

0.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MAD 5.42

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.62 MAD 252

$26.62 MX$496

-3.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 MAD 7.18

$4.97 MX$92.6

-85.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 MAD 7.61

$3.33 MX$62.1

-76.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.13 MAD 40.70

$5.36 MX$99.8

-22.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MAD 14.99

$1.44 MX$26.92

5.56%

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

$30.2K MAD 297.0K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

45.93%

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

$32.1K MAD 316.0K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

36.76%

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

$35.47 MAD 349

$84.8 MX$1,581

-58.17%

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

$10.21 MAD 101

$23.41 MX$436

-56.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.51 MAD 330

$28.66 MX$534

16.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.87 MAD 274

$57.1 MX$1,063

-51.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.11 MAD 237

$28.91 MX$539

-16.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.94 MAD 58.5

$5.14 MX$95.8

15.56%

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

$180 MAD 1,776

$207 MX$3,851

-12.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,261 MAD 91.2K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

135.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.83 MAD 461

$43.35 MX$808

8.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.60 MAD 400

$41.44 MX$772

-2.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 MAD 902

$74.2 MX$1,383

23.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.0 MAD 650

$89.3 MX$1,664

-26.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$572 MAD 5,629

$980 MX$18.3K

-41.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$345 MAD 3,401

$381 MX$7,099

-9.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$987 MAD 9,719

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-42.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$687 MAD 6,769

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-36.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,126 MAD 20.9K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-46.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,214 MAD 12.0K

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-80.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$721 MAD 7,105

$735 MX$13.7K

-1.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

11.45

-60.26%

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

Last update for Rabat: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rabat

$345 37.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 10.3% $35

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$203 22%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 25.7% $52

Eating Out

Rabat

$112 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 80.9% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$110 12%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 1.4% $1.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$79 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 72.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$40 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 69.4% $28

Getting Around

Rabat

$32 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 55.7% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $572 in Rabat versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41 in Rabat versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $203 vs $255 – making Rabat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Rabat

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:55 10:55 PM

17:55 5:55 PM

5 h behind Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

573,895 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.15 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.85 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

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).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rabat Playa del Carmen 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
Playa del Carmen

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

Rabat vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 31%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,382 per month in Rabat and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rabat, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $572 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $921 in Rabat and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Rabat about 23% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 4% less in Rabat. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $921 in Rabat and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

For expats, Rabat is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 23% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.