Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sur and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Sur and in Playa del Carmen: $1,149 and $1,204 a month, rent and utilities included.

55

Cost of Living Index in Sur
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Sur Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Sur

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,149

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,149 per month in Sur vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sur $1,149
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,653 per month in Sur vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sur $1,653
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,156 per month in Sur vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Sur $2,156
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Sur is about 5% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Sur and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Sur 16% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 OMR 1.49

$10.92 MX$204

-64.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.96 OMR 9.99

$43.37 MX$810

-40.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 OMR 2.94

$11.78 MX$220

-35.23%

Cappuccino

$5.05 OMR 1.94

$3.81 MX$71.2

32.55%

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

$0.73 OMR 0.28

$1.28 MX$23.96

-42.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$0.78 MX$14.63

-65.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.80 OMR 4.93

$3.17 MX$59.2

303.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.79 OMR 4.92

$4.93 MX$92.2

159.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 OMR 0.61

$1.41 MX$26.28

12.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 OMR 0.48

$2.22 MX$41.43

-44.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 OMR 0.66

$1.42 MX$26.48

21.83%

Eggs

$1.95 OMR 0.75

$2.52 MX$47.14

-22.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.19 OMR 2.77

$7.26 MX$136

-0.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.81 OMR 2.62

$7.70 MX$144

-11.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.99 OMR 3.46

$12.69 MX$237

-29.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 OMR 0.91

$2.78 MX$52.0

-15.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$1.37 MX$25.56

-6.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.06 OMR 0.41

$2.55 MX$47.66

-58.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.80 OMR 0.31

$2.12 MX$39.67

-62.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 OMR 0.29

$1.94 MX$36.22

-60.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.54 OMR 0.21

$1.89 MX$35.24

-71.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 OMR 0.60

$1.15 MX$21.42

34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 OMR 0.21

$1.18 MX$22.03

-55.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.38 OMR 2.45

$4.30 MX$80.3

48.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.86 OMR 6.11

$9.95 MX$186

59.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.10 OMR 2.35

$1.58 MX$29.59

286.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.30 OMR 3.96

$2.67 MX$49.91

285.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 OMR 1.28

$4.97 MX$92.9

-33.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.61 OMR 1.01

$3.33 MX$62.2

-21.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.74 OMR 2.98

$5.36 MX$100

44.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.53 OMR 0.20

$1.44 MX$26.98

-63.19%

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

$24.7K OMR 9,491

$20.7K MX$386.2K

19.29%

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

$20.7K OMR 7,965

$23.5K MX$438.5K

-11.84%

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

$77.7 OMR 29.90

$84.8 MX$1,584

-8.40%

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

$23.09 OMR 8.89

$23.41 MX$437

-1.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 OMR 26.85

$28.66 MX$535

143.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$86.3 OMR 33.21

$57.1 MX$1,066

51.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$10.25 OMR 3.95

$5.14 MX$96.0

99.42%

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

$502 OMR 193

$207 MX$3,860

143.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,458 OMR 2,486

$3,927 MX$73.4K

64.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.9 OMR 21.89

$43.35 MX$810

31.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.07 OMR 16.97

$41.44 MX$774

6.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.9 OMR 34.23

$74.2 MX$1,386

19.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 OMR 34.01

$89.3 MX$1,668

-1.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$257 OMR 99.0

$980 MX$18.3K

-73.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$271 OMR 104

$381 MX$7,116

-28.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$467 OMR 180

$1,708 MX$31.9K

-72.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 OMR 148

$1,075 MX$20.1K

-64.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$583 OMR 224

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-85.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$515 OMR 198

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-91.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,660 OMR 1,024

$735 MX$13.7K

262.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

11.45

-54.15%

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

Last update for Sur: October 26, 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

Sur

$271 23.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 40.8% $110

Groceries & Markets

Sur

$252 21.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 1.1% $2.8

Eating Out

Sur

$208 18.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 2.8% $5.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sur

$170 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 19.7% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Sur

$125 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 10.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Sur

$107 9.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 36.9% $39

Getting Around

Sur

$16 * 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 208% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $257 in Sur 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 Sur are about 3.6 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $26 in Sur versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $252 vs $255 – making Sur the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Sur

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:44 10:44 PM

13:44 1:44 PM

9 h behind Sur

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.429 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sur Playa del Carmen 14,000 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Sur
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,724 per month in Sur 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 Sur, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $257 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $26 in Sur and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $502 per month in Sur and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,149 in Sur and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,149 in Sur to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.