Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Balzan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,939 in Balzan, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

92

Cost of Living Index in Balzan
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Balzan Living Index
58

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

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Balzan

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,939

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,939 per month in Balzan vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Balzan $1,939
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,927 per month in Balzan vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Balzan $2,927
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,915 per month in Balzan vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Balzan $3,915
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Balzan costs about 61% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Balzan sits 42% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.68 €16.73

$10.92 MX$205

71.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.1 €81.6

$43.37 MX$814

110.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.10 €10.84

$11.78 MX$221

2.72%

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.76

$3.81 MX$71.5

-18.90%

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

$1.93 €1.73

$1.28 MX$24.07

50.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 €0.92

$0.78 MX$14.70

32.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 €2.92

$3.17 MX$59.5

2.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$4.93 MX$92.7

-50.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.12

$1.41 MX$26.40

-11.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.97 €0.87

$2.22 MX$41.62

-56.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.52 €3.16

$1.42 MX$26.61

147.89%

Eggs

$4.30 €3.85

$2.52 MX$47.36

70.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 €9.23

$7.26 MX$136

41.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 €8.15

$7.70 MX$144

18.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.40 €11.10

$12.69 MX$238

-2.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.64 €2.37

$2.78 MX$52.3

-5.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 €1.83

$1.37 MX$25.68

48.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.68 €1.51

$2.55 MX$47.89

-34.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 €1.03

$2.12 MX$39.86

-45.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.86 €0.77

$1.94 MX$36.39

-55.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 €0.81

$1.89 MX$35.41

-51.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.85 €0.76

$1.15 MX$21.53

-26.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 €0.89

$1.18 MX$22.13

-16.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.09 €5.46

$4.30 MX$80.6

41.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 €5.39

$9.95 MX$187

-39.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.58 MX$29.73

-32.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.67 MX$50.1

-44.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.01 €2.70

$0.55 MX$10.39

447.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 €2.00

$4.97 MX$93.3

-55.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 €1.58

$3.33 MX$62.5

-47.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.03 €28.69

$5.36 MX$101

497.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.44 MX$27.11

5.56%

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

$27.5K €24.6K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

32.96%

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

$32.2K €28.9K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

37.30%

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

$154 €138

$84.8 MX$1,592

81.79%

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

$19.90 €17.82

$23.41 MX$439

-14.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.97 €25.95

$28.66 MX$538

1.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.6 €65.9

$57.1 MX$1,071

28.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$11.40 €10.21

$5.14 MX$96.5

121.79%

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

$280 €250

$207 MX$3,878

35.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K €10.9K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

208.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.0 €52.0

$43.35 MX$814

33.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.1 €61.9

$41.44 MX$778

66.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 €98.5

$74.2 MX$1,393

48.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 €117

$89.3 MX$1,676

45.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,132 €1,014

$980 MX$18.4K

15.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$950 €851

$381 MX$7,150

149.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,804 €1,615

$1,708 MX$32.1K

5.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 €1,364

$1,075 MX$20.2K

41.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,057 €3,633

$3,943 MX$74.0K

2.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,876 €2,575

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-53.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,000 €896

$735 MX$13.8K

36.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

11.45

-64.63%

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

Last update for Balzan: 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

Balzan

$950 49%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 59.9% $569

Eating Out

Balzan

$256 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 20.9% $53

Groceries & Markets

Balzan

$245 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 3.9% $9.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Balzan

$203 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 32.6% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Balzan

$165 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 32.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Balzan

$96 5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 30.1% $29

Getting Around

Balzan

$23 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 119% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,132 in Balzan 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 run about 36% higher in Balzan, 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 $91 in Balzan versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $245 in Balzan vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Balzan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Balzan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

19:46 7:46 PM

6 h behind Balzan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,700

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Balzan Playa del Carmen 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Balzan
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,939 in Balzan, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 38% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,908 per month in Balzan 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,132 in Balzan.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91 in Balzan and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Balzan – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Balzan at $1,939. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Balzan 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.

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