Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ras al-Khaimah and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,840 in Ras al-Khaimah, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Ras al-Khaimah
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Ras al-Khaimah Living Index
59

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

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Ras al-Khaimah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,840

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ras al-Khaimah 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 Ras al-Khaimah and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,840 per month in Ras al-Khaimah vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ras al-Khaimah $1,840
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $2,803 per month in Ras al-Khaimah vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ras al-Khaimah $2,803
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $3,767 per month in Ras al-Khaimah vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ras al-Khaimah $3,767
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Ras al-Khaimah costs about 52% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Ras al-Khaimah sits 36% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.76 AED 50.5

$10.76 MX$199

27.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.26 AED 148

$43.03 MX$795

-6.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 AED 27.64

$11.79 MX$218

-36.13%

Cappuccino

$5.51 AED 20.22

$3.87 MX$71.4

42.38%

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

$1.11 AED 4.08

$1.37 MX$25.29

-18.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 AED 1.76

$0.84 MX$15.44

-42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.16 AED 37.32

$3.10 MX$57.3

227.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.70 AED 35.63

$5.07 MX$93.6

91.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 AED 6.00

$1.44 MX$26.55

13.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.08 AED 7.65

$2.23 MX$41.23

-6.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 AED 7.20

$1.47 MX$27.17

33.33%

Eggs

$2.35 AED 8.62

$2.53 MX$46.71

-7.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.68 AED 46.57

$7.30 MX$135

73.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 AED 36.56

$7.86 MX$145

26.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.46 AED 56.8

$12.79 MX$236

20.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 AED 7.39

$2.90 MX$53.6

-30.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 AED 6.14

$1.44 MX$26.53

15.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 AED 5.69

$2.55 MX$47.07

-39.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 4.98

$2.06 MX$38.03

-33.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 AED 3.54

$2.00 MX$36.97

-52.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.87 AED 3.20

$2.01 MX$37.07

-56.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 AED 6.39

$1.19 MX$22.02

46.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 AED 1.61

$1.26 MX$23.23

-65.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 AED 25.61

$4.40 MX$81.4

58.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 AED 49.89

$9.59 MX$177

41.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 AED 9.66

$1.59 MX$29.41

65.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 AED 10.56

$2.81 MX$51.9

2.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.12 AED 7.80

$0.57 MX$10.47

271.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$114 AED 419

$27.82 MX$514

310.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.69 AED 6.21

$4.98 MX$92.1

-66.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 AED 2.93

$3.50 MX$64.6

-77.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.16 AED 29.96

$5.40 MX$99.8

51.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 AED 3.41

$1.47 MX$27.08

-36.73%

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

$45.8K AED 168.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

118.26%

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

$22.3K AED 82.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-6.58%

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

$121 AED 444

$84.2 MX$1,556

43.63%

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

$44.73 AED 164

$23.99 MX$443

86.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.4 AED 291

$29.02 MX$536

173.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.9 AED 213

$63.0 MX$1,164

-8.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.22 AED 148

$29.14 MX$539

38.02%

Cinema Ticket

$12.72 AED 46.70

$4.94 MX$91.3

157.49%

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

$299 AED 1,099

$204 MX$3,763

47.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,462 AED 16.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

13.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 AED 296

$43.60 MX$806

84.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 AED 195

$43.12 MX$797

23.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 AED 438

$75.8 MX$1,400

57.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 AED 430

$88.6 MX$1,637

32.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 AED 2,819

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-23.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$657 AED 2,413

$374 MX$6,911

75.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,660 AED 6,095

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-2.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,243 AED 4,563

$1,106 MX$20.4K

12.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,007 AED 18.4K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

26.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,962 AED 7,207

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-68.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,577 AED 5,791

$754 MX$13.9K

109.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.92

11.45

-57.03%

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

Last update for Ras al-Khaimah: October 13, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ras al-Khaimah

$657 35.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 43.1% $283

Groceries & Markets

Ras al-Khaimah

$285 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 9.2% $26

Eating Out

Ras al-Khaimah

$275 15%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 26.5% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ras al-Khaimah

$245 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 44% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Ras al-Khaimah

$167 9.1%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 32.2% $54

Getting Around

Ras al-Khaimah

$128 7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 59.1% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Ras al-Khaimah

$83 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 12.5% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $767 in Ras al-Khaimah versus $1,008 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.

Salaries run about 109% higher in Ras al-Khaimah, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Ras al-Khaimah versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $285 in Ras al-Khaimah vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Ras al-Khaimah

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

00:42 12:42 AM

9 h behind Ras al-Khaimah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

241,000

149,923

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ras al-Khaimah Playa del Carmen 13,490 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Ras al-Khaimah
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

Ras al-Khaimah vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ras al-Khaimah is pricier by about 52%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,760 per month in Ras al-Khaimah and $1,816 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,840 in Ras al-Khaimah and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 52%.

Public transport costs about 311% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Ras al-Khaimah at $1,840. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ras al-Khaimah it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – 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 Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ras al-Khaimah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.