Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shaab and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,386 in Shaab, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shaab outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

66

Cost of Living Index in Shaab
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Shaab Living Index
58

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

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Shaab

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,386

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,386 per month in Shaab vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Shaab $1,386
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,294 per month in Shaab vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Shaab $2,294
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,201 per month in Shaab vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Shaab $3,201
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Shaab costs about 15% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Shaab sits 2% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.70 KWD 3.91

$10.92 MX$204

16.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.2 KWD 19.47

$43.37 MX$808

45.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.88 KWD 2.74

$11.78 MX$220

-24.62%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.12 KWD 0.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.97 KWD 1.53

Cappuccino

$5.21 KWD 1.61

$3.81 MX$71.0

36.75%

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

$0.70 KWD 0.22

$1.28 MX$23.90

-45.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.78 MX$14.59

-62.82%

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)

$1.58 KWD 0.49

$1.41 MX$26.22

12.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 KWD 0.45

$2.22 MX$41.33

-34.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 KWD 0.61

$1.42 MX$26.42

39.44%

Eggs

$2.07 KWD 0.64

$2.52 MX$47.03

-17.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.42 KWD 1.36

$7.26 MX$135

-39.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 KWD 2.08

$7.70 MX$143

-12.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.17 KWD 3.13

$12.69 MX$237

-19.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.52 KWD 0.78

$2.78 MX$51.9

-9.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 KWD 0.59

$1.37 MX$25.50

40.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 KWD 0.58

$2.55 MX$47.55

-26.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 KWD 0.46

$2.12 MX$39.58

-30.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 KWD 0.41

$1.94 MX$36.13

-31.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 KWD 0.46

$1.89 MX$35.16

-21.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 KWD 0.71

$1.15 MX$21.37

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 KWD 0.18

$1.18 MX$21.98

-51.69%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.15 KWD 0.97

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 KWD 0.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 KWD 0.83

$4.30 MX$80.1

-37.44%

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)

$0.81 KWD 0.25

$0.55 MX$10.31

47.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 KWD 1.50

$4.97 MX$92.6

-2.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.30 KWD 1.02

$3.33 MX$62.1

-0.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.86 KWD 4.89

$5.36 MX$99.8

195.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 KWD 0.11

$1.44 MX$26.92

-75.69%

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

$23.6K KWD 7,262

$20.7K MX$385.2K

14.05%

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

$19.5K KWD 6,015

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-16.80%

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

$66.5 KWD 20.47

$84.8 MX$1,581

-21.63%

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

$22.82 KWD 7.03

$23.41 MX$436

-2.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.54 KWD 9.10

$28.66 MX$534

3.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$102 KWD 31.37

$57.1 MX$1,063

78.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$12.90 KWD 3.97

$5.14 MX$95.8

150.97%

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

$503 KWD 155

$207 MX$3,851

143.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,302 KWD 2,866

$3,927 MX$73.2K

136.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.18 KWD 11.46

$43.35 MX$808

-14.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.66 KWD 12.22

$41.44 MX$772

-4.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.4 KWD 30.01

$74.2 MX$1,383

31.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 KWD 26.94

$89.3 MX$1,664

-2.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 KWD 245

$980 MX$18.3K

-18.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$617 KWD 190

$381 MX$7,099

61.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 KWD 522

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-0.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,320 KWD 407

$1,075 MX$20.0K

22.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,175 KWD 978

$735 MX$13.7K

332.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

11.45

-42.97%

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

Last update for Shaab: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Shaab

$617 44.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 38.3% $236

Eating Out

Shaab

$195 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 3.9% $7.6

Groceries & Markets

Shaab

$186 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 37% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Shaab

$128 9.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 47.2% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shaab

$119 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 15.2% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Shaab

$118 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 5.1% $6.1

Getting Around

Shaab

$25 * 1.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 105% $26

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $796 in Shaab 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 Shaab are about 4.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Shaab versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $186 in Shaab vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Shaab wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Shaab

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:08 12:08 AM

16:08 4:08 PM

8 h behind Shaab

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

164,212

149,923

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.92 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.343 KWD (1 KWD = 2.92 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 KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Shaab Playa del Carmen 12,670 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Shaab
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

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

Yes – Shaab is pricier by about 15%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,080 per month in Shaab 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 Shaab, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $796 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,386 in Shaab and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 13% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $503 per month in Shaab and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,386 in Shaab. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Shaab makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.