Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sabratha and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
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Sabratha Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $406 per month in Sabratha vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sabratha $406
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $596 per month in Sabratha vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sabratha $596
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $785 per month in Sabratha vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sabratha $785
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Sabratha is about 66% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Sabratha and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Sabratha 70% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 LYD 19.40

$10.92 MX$204

-72.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.55 LYD 61.2

$43.37 MX$808

-77.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$1.54 LYD 9.87

$11.78 MX$220

-86.93%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.60 LYD 3.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 LYD 4.33

Cappuccino

$0.44 LYD 2.83

$3.81 MX$71.0

-88.45%

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

$0.32 LYD 2.07

$1.28 MX$23.90

-75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.09 LYD 0.57

$0.78 MX$14.59

-88.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 LYD 5.87

$1.41 MX$26.22

-34.75%

White Bread (500g)

$0.20 LYD 1.28

$2.22 MX$41.33

-90.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 LYD 7.06

$1.42 MX$26.42

-22.54%

Eggs

$1.41 LYD 9.01

$2.52 MX$47.03

-44.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.23 LYD 33.54

$7.26 MX$135

-27.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.50 LYD 22.43

$7.70 MX$143

-54.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.32 LYD 59.7

$12.69 MX$237

-26.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 LYD 12.79

$2.78 MX$51.9

-28.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 LYD 9.86

$1.37 MX$25.50

12.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.69 LYD 4.44

$2.55 MX$47.55

-72.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.60 LYD 3.85

$2.12 MX$39.58

-71.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.48 LYD 3.10

$1.94 MX$36.13

-75.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 LYD 2.06

$1.89 MX$35.16

-83.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 LYD 1.89

$1.15 MX$21.37

-73.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.17 LYD 1.09

$1.18 MX$21.98

-85.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 LYD 5.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 LYD 5.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.89 LYD 12.09

$4.30 MX$80.1

-56.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 LYD 5.25

$0.55 MX$10.31

49.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 LYD 5.18

$4.97 MX$92.6

-83.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 LYD 2.06

$3.33 MX$62.1

-90.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 LYD 4.84

$5.36 MX$99.8

-85.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.11

$1.44 MX$26.92

-98.61%

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

$23.2K LYD 149.0K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

12.50%

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

$21.4K LYD 137.2K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-8.78%

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

$91.9 LYD 589

$84.8 MX$1,581

8.37%

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

$3.80 LYD 24.38

$23.41 MX$436

-83.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.86 LYD 88.9

$28.66 MX$534

-51.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.06 LYD 70.9

$57.1 MX$1,063

-80.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.61 LYD 48.79

$28.91 MX$539

-73.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

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

$39.49 LYD 253

$207 MX$3,851

-80.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$946 LYD 6,064

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-75.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.10 LYD 122

$43.35 MX$808

-55.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.32 LYD 111

$41.44 MX$772

-58.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.7 LYD 415

$74.2 MX$1,383

-12.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$15.66 LYD 100

$89.3 MX$1,664

-82.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$157 LYD 1,006

$980 MX$18.3K

-83.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$78.6 LYD 504

$381 MX$7,099

-79.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$232 LYD 1,487

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-86.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$108 LYD 694

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-89.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$280 LYD 1,796

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-92.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$189 LYD 1,208

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-96.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$187 LYD 1,201

$735 MX$13.7K

-74.49%

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 Sabratha: October 25, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sabratha

$113 27.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 126% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sabratha

$110 27%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 24.9% $27

Accommodation & Living

Sabratha

$79 19.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 384% $302

Clothing & Footwear

Sabratha

$53 13%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 113% $59

Eating Out

Sabratha

$36 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 465% $167

Sport & Entertainment

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 509% $56

Getting Around

Sabratha

$5.7 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 787% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $157 in Sabratha 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.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $10 in Sabratha versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $113 vs $255 – making Sabratha the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:09 12:09 AM

17:09 5:09 PM

7 h behind Sabratha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,398

149,923

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.13 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 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 LYD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sabratha Playa del Carmen 9,620 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sabratha
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 197%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $609 per month in Sabratha 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 Sabratha, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $157 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $406 in Sabratha and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Sabratha about 66% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $39 per month in Sabratha and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Sabratha, where all-in costs run around $406, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Sabratha it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sabratha – 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 Sabratha. 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.