Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sharjah and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,841 in Sharjah, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sharjah outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,841

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,841 per month in Sharjah vs $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sharjah $1,841
Playa del Carmen $1,215

A couple spends around $2,576 per month in Sharjah vs $2,144 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sharjah $2,576
Playa del Carmen $2,144

A family of three spends $3,312 per month in Sharjah vs $3,072 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sharjah $3,312
Playa del Carmen $3,072

Sharjah costs about 51% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Sharjah sits 37% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 9% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 AED 21.92

$10.97 MX$201

-45.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.91 AED 121

$44.85 MX$823

-26.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.29 AED 30.45

$11.92 MX$219

-30.45%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.54 AED 35.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.35 AED 34.35

Cappuccino

$3.82 AED 14.02

$3.80 MX$69.9

0.53%

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

$0.80 AED 2.93

$1.31 MX$24.08

-38.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 AED 1.05

$0.86 MX$15.72

-66.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$1.46 MX$26.77

5.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 AED 4.38

$2.33 MX$42.72

-48.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 AED 6.71

$1.44 MX$26.48

27.08%

Eggs

$3.21 AED 11.80

$2.46 MX$45.20

30.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 AED 31.73

$7.70 MX$141

12.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 AED 24.36

$7.89 MX$145

-15.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 AED 42.09

$12.80 MX$235

-10.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 AED 8.33

$2.92 MX$53.6

-22.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 AED 6.12

$1.42 MX$26.11

17.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 AED 4.78

$2.57 MX$47.10

-49.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 AED 4.72

$2.14 MX$39.24

-40.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 AED 3.79

$1.95 MX$35.75

-47.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 AED 4.12

$1.94 MX$35.55

-42.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$1.15 MX$21.13

24.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 AED 2.23

$1.22 MX$22.42

-50.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.53 AED 57.0

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 AED 8.88

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 AED 9.50

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.19

$4.38 MX$80.3

44.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.16 AED 7.92

$0.52 MX$9.64

315.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.07 AED 99.4

$27.42 MX$503

-1.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 AED 13.42

$4.91 MX$90.2

-25.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 AED 1.91

$3.52 MX$64.7

-85.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.07 AED 44.33

$5.69 MX$104

112.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 AED 3.46

$1.54 MX$28.27

-38.96%

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

$45.2K AED 166.0K

$21.2K MX$389.9K

112.80%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$24.5K MX$449.6K

-10.06%

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

$208 AED 766

$83.6 MX$1,535

149.36%

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

$49.40 AED 181

$24.03 MX$441

105.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$96.1 AED 353

$29.33 MX$539

227.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 AED 196

$64.9 MX$1,191

-17.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.29 AED 81.9

$29.46 MX$541

-24.34%

Cinema Ticket

$13.54 AED 49.72

$5.09 MX$93.4

166.01%

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

$325 AED 1,194

$208 MX$3,813

56.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,433 AED 31.0K

$4,045 MX$74.3K

108.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 AED 212

$44.55 MX$818

29.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.0 AED 286

$42.06 MX$772

85.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 AED 401

$75.5 MX$1,387

44.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 AED 353

$91.4 MX$1,678

5.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$823 AED 3,024

$986 MX$18.1K

-16.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 AED 3,329

$385 MX$7,072

135.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,797 AED 6,598

$1,713 MX$31.5K

4.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 AED 5,148

$1,108 MX$20.4K

26.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,241 AED 30.3K

$4,016 MX$73.7K

105.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,748 AED 10.1K

$6,247 MX$114.7K

-56.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,191 AED 8,045

$758 MX$13.9K

188.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

11.45

-60.70%

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

Last update for Sharjah: October 5, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sharjah

$906 49%

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4% 57.5% $521

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sharjah

$354 19.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2% 61.3% $217

Groceries & Markets

Sharjah

$192 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2% 35.4% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Sharjah

$153 8.3%

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3% 25.6% $39

Eating Out

Sharjah

$123 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6% 66.2% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Sharjah

$81 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1% 6.9% $5.5

Getting Around

Sharjah

$42 2.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2% 24.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $823 in Sharjah versus $986 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 189% higher in Sharjah, 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 $33.00 in Sharjah versus $45.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $192 vs $260 – making Sharjah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

01:45 1:45 AM

9 h behind Sharjah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,400,000

149,923

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sharjah Playa del Carmen 13,490 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Sharjah
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

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

Yes – Sharjah is pricier by about 51%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,761 per month in Sharjah and $1,823 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 $1,841 in Sharjah and $1,215 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 51%.

Public transport costs about 1% 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 $1,215, than in Sharjah at $1,841. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sharjah 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, Sharjah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.