Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chur and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $3,235 in Chur, rent and utilities included – about $24,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

158

Cost of Living Index in Chur
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Chur Living Index
59

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

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Chur

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,235

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,235 per month in Chur vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Chur $3,235
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $5,037 per month in Chur vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Chur $5,037
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $6,840 per month in Chur vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Chur $6,840
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Chur costs about 167% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Chur sits 140% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$28.57 CHF 23.53

$10.76 MX$199

165.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 CHF 87.7

$43.03 MX$795

147.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.08 CHF 13.24

$11.79 MX$218

36.39%

Cappuccino

$5.56 CHF 4.58

$3.87 MX$71.4

43.67%

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

$5.73 CHF 4.72

$1.37 MX$25.29

318.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 CHF 4.26

$0.84 MX$15.44

516.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.23 CHF 6.78

$3.10 MX$57.3

165.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.28 CHF 6.82

$5.07 MX$93.6

63.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 CHF 1.81

$1.44 MX$26.55

52.78%

White Bread (500g)

$3.42 CHF 2.81

$2.23 MX$41.23

53.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 CHF 3.47

$1.47 MX$27.17

186.39%

Eggs

$7.49 CHF 6.17

$2.53 MX$46.71

196.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.47 CHF 21.80

$7.30 MX$135

262.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$25.86 CHF 21.30

$7.86 MX$145

229.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$38.41 CHF 31.64

$12.79 MX$236

200.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 CHF 2.95

$2.90 MX$53.6

23.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 CHF 1.68

$1.44 MX$26.53

41.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 CHF 2.14

$2.55 MX$47.07

1.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.74 CHF 3.90

$2.06 MX$38.03

130.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 CHF 1.57

$2.00 MX$36.97

-4.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 CHF 1.84

$2.01 MX$37.07

11.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 CHF 1.99

$1.19 MX$22.02

103.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 CHF 1.16

$1.26 MX$23.23

11.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.64 CHF 8.76

$4.40 MX$81.4

141.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.92 CHF 10.64

$9.59 MX$177

34.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 CHF 1.84

$1.59 MX$29.41

40.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 CHF 2.82

$2.81 MX$51.9

21.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.31 CHF 4.38

$0.57 MX$10.47

831.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$184 CHF 151

$27.82 MX$514

560.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.49 CHF 6.17

$4.98 MX$92.1

50.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.89 CHF 4.03

$3.50 MX$64.6

39.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.1 CHF 71.8

$5.40 MX$99.8

1513.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 CHF 1.73

$1.47 MX$27.08

42.86%

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

$40.9K CHF 33.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

95.02%

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

$37.6K CHF 31.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

57.35%

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

$232 CHF 191

$84.2 MX$1,556

175.58%

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

$32.08 CHF 26.42

$23.99 MX$443

33.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.3 CHF 43.87

$29.02 MX$536

83.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.6 CHF 64.8

$63.0 MX$1,164

24.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.32 CHF 27.44

$29.14 MX$539

14.34%

Cinema Ticket

$21.55 CHF 17.75

$4.94 MX$91.3

336.23%

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

$2,424 CHF 1,997

$204 MX$3,763

1090.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$44.7K CHF 36.8K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

1034.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.0 CHF 73.3

$43.60 MX$806

104.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.89 CHF 40.27

$43.12 MX$797

13.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 CHF 98.4

$75.8 MX$1,400

57.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$172 CHF 142

$88.6 MX$1,637

94.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 CHF 1,407

$1,008 MX$18.6K

69.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,349 CHF 1,111

$374 MX$6,911

260.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,988 CHF 2,461

$1,708 MX$31.6K

74.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,517 CHF 2,073

$1,106 MX$20.4K

127.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,198 CHF 5,929

$3,944 MX$72.9K

82.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,335 CHF 4,394

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-13.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,475 CHF 6,980

$754 MX$13.9K

1023.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.72

11.45

-84.98%

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

Last update for Chur: October 13, 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

Chur

$1.3K 41.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 72.3% $975

Groceries & Markets

Chur

$572 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 54.8% $313

Eating Out

Chur

$445 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 54.5% $243

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chur

$317 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 56.8% $180

Getting Around

Chur

$237 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 77.8% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Chur

$193 6%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 41.6% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Chur

$122 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 40.1% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,709 in Chur 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.

Salaries run about 1024% higher in Chur, 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 $107 in Chur versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $572 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Chur

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

23:19 11:19 PM

7 h behind Chur

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,082

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

Chur Playa del Carmen 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chur
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $3,235 in Chur, $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 167% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,852 per month in Chur 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.

Kindergarten costs $2,424 per month in Chur and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 121% more in Chur, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Chur at $3,235. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chur it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $3,235 in Chur. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Chur makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.