Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Embrach and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $3,563 in Embrach, rent and utilities included – about $28,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

171

Cost of Living Index in Embrach
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Embrach Living Index
57

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

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Embrach

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,563

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,563 per month in Embrach vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Embrach $3,563
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $5,363 per month in Embrach vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Embrach $5,363
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $7,163 per month in Embrach vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Embrach $7,163
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Embrach costs about 196% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Embrach sits 164% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.30 CHF 24.70

$10.67 MX$200

183.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$124 CHF 101

$43.80 MX$823

182.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.53 CHF 15.11

$11.79 MX$221

57.17%

Cappuccino

$6.21 CHF 5.07

$3.79 MX$71.1

63.85%

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

$5.43 CHF 4.43

$1.30 MX$24.36

317.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.82 CHF 3.93

$0.83 MX$15.65

480.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.91 CHF 7.26

$3.15 MX$59.1

182.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.23 CHF 5.90

$4.93 MX$92.7

46.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 CHF 1.75

$1.41 MX$26.46

52.48%

White Bread (500g)

$3.84 CHF 3.13

$2.20 MX$41.23

74.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.33 CHF 2.72

$1.47 MX$27.66

126.53%

Eggs

$7.93 CHF 6.47

$2.50 MX$46.89

217.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$29.57 CHF 24.11

$7.29 MX$137

305.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.12 CHF 22.93

$7.95 MX$149

253.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.77 CHF 34.06

$12.86 MX$242

224.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 CHF 2.86

$2.90 MX$54.4

20.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 CHF 1.68

$1.38 MX$25.98

49.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 CHF 2.34

$2.49 MX$46.78

14.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.13 CHF 3.36

$2.03 MX$38.12

103.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 CHF 1.37

$2.02 MX$38.03

-16.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 CHF 1.90

$1.90 MX$35.74

22.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 CHF 1.87

$1.14 MX$21.49

101.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 CHF 1.04

$1.24 MX$23.27

3.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.54 CHF 7.78

$4.27 MX$80.2

123.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.34 CHF 10.06

$9.81 MX$184

25.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 CHF 2.29

$1.59 MX$29.78

76.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 CHF 2.52

$2.75 MX$51.6

12.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.97 CHF 4.05

$0.51 MX$9.67

874.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 CHF 84.2

$27.39 MX$514

277.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.07 CHF 5.77

$4.76 MX$89.4

48.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.56 CHF 3.72

$3.25 MX$61.0

40.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.0 CHF 70.9

$5.39 MX$101

1513.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 CHF 1.86

$1.53 MX$28.70

49.02%

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

$43.5K CHF 35.5K

$21.2K MX$398.4K

105.01%

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

$35.7K CHF 29.1K

$23.3K MX$436.9K

53.49%

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

$284 CHF 231

$83.5 MX$1,568

239.83%

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

$32.92 CHF 26.85

$23.19 MX$435

41.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 CHF 45.68

$27.61 MX$519

102.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$84.5 CHF 68.9

$56.4 MX$1,060

49.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.47 CHF 37.08

$28.19 MX$529

61.30%

Cinema Ticket

$23.65 CHF 19.28

$5.00 MX$93.9

373.00%

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

$2,564 CHF 2,091

$207 MX$3,889

1138.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.7K CHF 29.9K

$5,231 MX$98.2K

601.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$147 CHF 120

$43.45 MX$816

239.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.1 CHF 53.9

$42.54 MX$799

55.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$161 CHF 131

$72.8 MX$1,367

121.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$188 CHF 153

$88.4 MX$1,660

112.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,805 CHF 1,472

$995 MX$18.7K

81.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,580 CHF 1,288

$382 MX$7,181

313.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,024 CHF 2,466

$1,674 MX$31.4K

80.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,573 CHF 2,098

$1,081 MX$20.3K

138.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$15.0K CHF 12.3K

$3,909 MX$73.4K

284.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.0K CHF 8,981

$6,138 MX$115.3K

79.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,698 CHF 5,462

$832 MX$15.6K

704.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.03

11.45

-82.27%

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

Last update for Embrach: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Embrach

$1.6K 44.3%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 75.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Embrach

$601 16.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 57.1% $343

Eating Out

Embrach

$473 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 57.6% $272

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Embrach

$373 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 64% $238

Clothing & Footwear

Embrach

$253 7.1%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 56% $142

Getting Around

Embrach

$153 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 67% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Embrach

$132 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 49.6% $65

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,805 in Embrach versus $995 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 Embrach are about 8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $124 in Embrach versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $601 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Embrach

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:41 6:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

6 h behind Embrach

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,300

149,923

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.23 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Embrach Playa del Carmen 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Embrach
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $3,563 in Embrach, $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 66% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,344 per month in Embrach and $1,804 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 $995 there versus $1,805 in Embrach.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,563 in Embrach and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 66% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 73% 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 $1,202, than in Embrach at $3,563. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Embrach 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, Embrach makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.