Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zahlah and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Zahlah: $997 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

49

Cost of Living Index in Zahlah
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Zahlah Living Index
59

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

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Zahlah

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$997

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $997 per month in Zahlah vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Zahlah $997
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,599 per month in Zahlah vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Zahlah $1,599
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,201 per month in Zahlah vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Zahlah $2,201
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Zahlah is about 18% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Zahlah and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Zahlah 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.97 LBP 1.1M

$10.76 MX$199

11.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.5 LBP 6.2M

$43.03 MX$795

61.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.85 LBP 881.9K

$11.79 MX$218

-16.45%

Cappuccino

$4.50 LBP 402.9K

$3.87 MX$71.4

16.28%

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

$2.40 LBP 214.6K

$1.37 MX$25.29

75.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 LBP 81.3K

$0.84 MX$15.44

8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.01 LBP 448.5K

$3.10 MX$57.3

61.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.83 LBP 432.6K

$5.07 MX$93.6

-4.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 LBP 173.8K

$1.44 MX$26.55

34.72%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 LBP 77.6K

$2.23 MX$41.23

-60.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 LBP 200.7K

$1.47 MX$27.17

52.38%

Eggs

$3.55 LBP 317.8K

$2.53 MX$46.71

40.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.24 LBP 1.0M

$7.30 MX$135

53.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.46 LBP 935.8K

$7.86 MX$145

33.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.81 LBP 1.3M

$12.79 MX$236

15.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 LBP 269.1K

$2.90 MX$53.6

3.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 LBP 147.4K

$1.44 MX$26.53

14.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 LBP 144.8K

$2.55 MX$47.07

-36.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 LBP 132.1K

$2.06 MX$38.03

-28.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 LBP 112.9K

$2.00 MX$36.97

-37.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 LBP 143.7K

$2.01 MX$37.07

-19.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 LBP 104.2K

$1.19 MX$22.02

-2.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 LBP 63.8K

$1.26 MX$23.23

-43.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.93 LBP 262.0K

$4.40 MX$81.4

-33.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.80 LBP 966.9K

$9.59 MX$177

12.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 LBP 113.3K

$1.59 MX$29.41

-20.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 LBP 220.9K

$2.81 MX$51.9

-12.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.86 LBP 435.3K

$4.98 MX$92.1

-2.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.24 LBP 200.1K

$3.50 MX$64.6

-36.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.27 LBP 2.0M

$5.40 MX$99.8

312.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 LBP 93.3K

$1.47 MX$27.08

-29.25%

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

$54.2K LBP 4.8B

$21.0K MX$387.8K

158.20%

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

$32.3K LBP 2.9B

$23.9K MX$441.8K

35.13%

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

$233 LBP 20.9M

$84.2 MX$1,556

177.20%

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

$22.43 LBP 2.0M

$23.99 MX$443

-6.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.64 LBP 3.4M

$29.02 MX$536

29.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$9.81 LBP 878.1K

$4.94 MX$91.3

98.58%

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

$675 LBP 60.4M

$204 MX$3,763

231.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K LBP 936.1M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

165.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 LBP 6.0M

$43.60 MX$806

53.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.56 LBP 4.3M

$43.12 MX$797

12.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 LBP 12.3M

$75.8 MX$1,400

81.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 LBP 10.6M

$88.6 MX$1,637

33.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-3.93%

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

Last update for Zahlah: October 10, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zahlah

$294 29.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 53.3% $156

Groceries & Markets

Zahlah

$274 27.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 5.5% $15

Eating Out

Zahlah

$227 22.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 11% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Zahlah

$167 16.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 32.5% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Zahlah

$20 * 2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 271% $53

Getting Around

Zahlah

$16 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 228% $37

Accommodation & Living

Zahlah

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $70.0 in Zahlah versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $274 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Zahlah

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:43 4:43 AM

20:43 8:43 PM

8 h behind Zahlah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,145

149,923

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,618 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to LBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Zahlah Playa del Carmen 11,470 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Zahlah
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 21%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,496 per month in Zahlah and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $997 in Zahlah and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 21%.

Kindergarten costs $675 per month in Zahlah and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Zahlah, where all-in costs run around $997, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Zahlah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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