Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Airolo and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $3,388 in Airolo, rent and utilities included – about $26,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

165

Cost of Living Index in Airolo
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Airolo Living Index
59

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

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Airolo

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,388

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,388 per month in Airolo vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Airolo $3,388
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $5,161 per month in Airolo vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Airolo $5,161
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $6,934 per month in Airolo vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Airolo $6,934
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Airolo costs about 180% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Airolo sits 151% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.08 CHF 24.77

$10.76 MX$199

179.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 CHF 100

$43.03 MX$795

182.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.00 CHF 14.83

$11.79 MX$218

52.67%

Cappuccino

$6.19 CHF 5.10

$3.87 MX$71.4

59.95%

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

$5.28 CHF 4.35

$1.37 MX$25.29

285.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 CHF 4.06

$0.84 MX$15.44

486.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.87 CHF 7.30

$3.10 MX$57.3

186.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 CHF 6.10

$5.07 MX$93.6

45.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.75

$1.44 MX$26.55

47.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.74 CHF 3.08

$2.23 MX$41.23

67.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.66 CHF 3.02

$1.47 MX$27.17

148.98%

Eggs

$7.68 CHF 6.32

$2.53 MX$46.71

203.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.26 CHF 21.63

$7.30 MX$135

259.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.37 CHF 23.36

$7.86 MX$145

260.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$40.16 CHF 33.08

$12.79 MX$236

214.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 CHF 2.86

$2.90 MX$53.6

19.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 CHF 1.62

$1.44 MX$26.53

36.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 CHF 2.23

$2.55 MX$47.07

6.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.75 CHF 3.92

$2.06 MX$38.03

130.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 CHF 1.45

$2.00 MX$36.97

-12.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 CHF 1.78

$2.01 MX$37.07

7.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 CHF 1.87

$1.19 MX$22.02

90.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 CHF 1.07

$1.26 MX$23.23

3.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.95 CHF 9.02

$4.40 MX$81.4

148.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 CHF 10.70

$9.59 MX$177

35.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 CHF 2.28

$1.59 MX$29.41

74.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 CHF 2.66

$2.81 MX$51.9

14.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.61 CHF 3.80

$0.57 MX$10.47

708.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 CHF 82.4

$27.82 MX$514

259.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.74 CHF 6.37

$4.98 MX$92.1

55.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.59 CHF 3.78

$3.50 MX$64.6

31.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$73.8 CHF 60.8

$5.40 MX$99.8

1267.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 CHF 1.86

$1.47 MX$27.08

53.74%

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

$41.6K CHF 34.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

98.07%

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

$39.2K CHF 32.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

63.83%

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

$282 CHF 232

$84.2 MX$1,556

234.30%

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

$33.23 CHF 27.37

$23.99 MX$443

38.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 CHF 45.69

$29.02 MX$536

91.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$88.6 CHF 73.0

$63.0 MX$1,164

40.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.27 CHF 37.29

$29.14 MX$539

55.35%

Cinema Ticket

$22.94 CHF 18.90

$4.94 MX$91.3

364.37%

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

$2,616 CHF 2,155

$204 MX$3,763

1184.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.5K CHF 27.6K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

751.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$138 CHF 114

$43.60 MX$806

216.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.4 CHF 48.96

$43.12 MX$797

37.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$148 CHF 122

$75.8 MX$1,400

95.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$186 CHF 153

$88.6 MX$1,637

109.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,687 CHF 1,389

$1,008 MX$18.6K

67.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,437 CHF 1,184

$374 MX$6,911

284.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,878 CHF 2,370

$1,708 MX$31.6K

68.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,427 CHF 1,999

$1,106 MX$20.4K

119.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.0K CHF 13.2K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

305.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.1K CHF 10.0K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

96.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.07

11.45

-81.92%

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

Last update for Airolo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Airolo

$1.4K 42.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 74% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Airolo

$589 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 56.2% $331

Eating Out

Airolo

$469 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 56.9% $267

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Airolo

$370 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 62.9% $233

Clothing & Footwear

Airolo

$239 7.1%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 52.7% $126

Getting Around

Airolo

$149 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 64.8% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Airolo

$135 4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 45.8% $62

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,687 in Airolo versus $1,008 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $122 in Airolo versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $589 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Airolo

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:20 6:20 AM

23:20 11:20 PM

7 h behind Airolo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,500

149,923

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Airolo Playa del Carmen 8,780 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Airolo
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

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

Airolo costs about 180% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,083 per month in Airolo and $1,816 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 $3,388 in Airolo and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 180%.

Public transport costs about 259% 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 $1,210, than in Airolo at $3,388. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Airolo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,210 versus $3,388 in Airolo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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