Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ferney-Voltaire and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,594 in Ferney-Voltaire, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Ferney-Voltaire, France
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Ferney-Voltaire
🇫🇷 France
$2,594
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,202
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,594 per month in Ferney-Voltaire vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Ferney-Voltaire $2,594
  • Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $4,123 per month in Ferney-Voltaire vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Ferney-Voltaire $4,123
  • Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $5,653 per month in Ferney-Voltaire vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Ferney-Voltaire $5,653
  • Playa del Carmen $2,962

Ferney-Voltaire costs about 116% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Ferney-Voltaire sits 92% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$19.87 €17.68
$10.67 MX$199
86.22%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$78.6 €70.0
$43.80 MX$815
79.54%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$18.73 €16.66
$11.79 MX$219
58.86%
Cappuccino
$4.55 €4.05
$3.79 MX$70.5
20.05%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.30 €2.94
$1.30 MX$24.14
153.85%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.83 €1.63
$0.83 MX$15.51
120.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$7.15 €6.36
$3.15 MX$58.6
126.98%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.68 €5.05
$4.93 MX$91.8
15.21%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.98 €1.76
$1.41 MX$26.22
40.43%
White Bread (500g)
$1.93 €1.72
$2.20 MX$40.86
-12.27%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.54 €2.26
$1.47 MX$27.40
72.79%
Eggs
$3.44 €3.06
$2.50 MX$46.46
37.60%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.73 €17.55
$7.29 MX$136
170.64%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$12.21 €10.87
$7.95 MX$148
53.58%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$21.49 €19.13
$12.86 MX$239
67.11%
Apples (1kg)
$3.09 €2.75
$2.90 MX$53.9
6.55%
Banana (1kg)
$2.29 €2.04
$1.38 MX$25.74
65.94%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.26 €2.90
$2.49 MX$46.35
30.92%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.43 €3.05
$2.03 MX$37.77
68.97%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 €1.80
$2.02 MX$37.68
-
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 €1.94
$1.90 MX$35.42
15.26%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 €1.02
$1.14 MX$21.30
0.88%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.80 €0.71
$1.24 MX$23.05
-35.48%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$14.78 €13.15
$4.27 MX$79.5
246.14%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.43 €4.84
$9.81 MX$183
-44.65%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.75 €1.56
$1.59 MX$29.51
10.06%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.28 €2.03
$2.75 MX$51.1
-17.09%
🚌 Getting Around
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.43 €3.05
$0.51 MX$9.58
572.55%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$48.11 €42.81
$27.39 MX$510
75.65%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$8.92 €7.93
$4.76 MX$88.6
87.39%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.43 €2.16
$3.25 MX$60.5
-25.23%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$35.36 €31.46
$5.39 MX$100
556.03%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.22 €1.98
$1.53 MX$28.44
45.10%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.2K €30.4K
$21.2K MX$394.8K
61.28%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$35.5K €31.6K
$23.3K MX$432.9K
52.76%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$201 €179
$83.5 MX$1,554
140.64%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$9.89 €8.80
$23.19 MX$431
-57.35%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$43.64 €38.83
$27.61 MX$514
58.06%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$99.4 €88.4
$56.4 MX$1,050
76.09%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$28.19 MX$525
-
Cinema Ticket
$11.06 €9.85
$5.00 MX$93.1
121.20%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,509 €2,233
$207 MX$3,854
1111.60%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$44.0K €39.2K
$5,231 MX$97.3K
741.88%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.65 €39.74
$43.45 MX$809
2.76%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.18 €36.64
$42.54 MX$792
-3.20%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$95.4 €84.9
$72.8 MX$1,354
31.14%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$111 €98.4
$88.4 MX$1,645
25.16%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,551 €1,380
$995 MX$18.5K
55.94%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,311 €1,166
$382 MX$7,116
242.78%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,514 €2,237
$1,674 MX$31.2K
50.13%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,767 €2,462
$1,081 MX$20.1K
156.07%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,610 €4,992
$3,909 MX$72.7K
43.52%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,250 €4,672
$6,138 MX$114.2K
-14.46%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Ferney-Voltaire
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,990 €3,550
$832 MX$15.5K
379.37%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.65
11.45
-68.12%

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

Last update for Ferney-Voltaire: November 3, 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
Ferney-Voltaire
$1.3K
Playa del Carmen
$382 70.8% $928
Groceries & Markets
Ferney-Voltaire
$356
Playa del Carmen
$257 27.7% $99
Eating Out
Ferney-Voltaire
$337
Playa del Carmen
$200 40.6% $137
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ferney-Voltaire
$254
Playa del Carmen
$134 47.2% $120
Clothing & Footwear
Ferney-Voltaire
$131
Playa del Carmen
$111 15.3% $20
Sport & Entertainment
Ferney-Voltaire
$122
Playa del Carmen
$66 45.3% $55
Getting Around
Ferney-Voltaire
$83
Playa del Carmen
$50 39.1% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,551 in Ferney-Voltaire 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 Ferney-Voltaire are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $79 in Ferney-Voltaire versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇫🇷 Ferney-Voltaire
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
15:43 3:43 PM
09:43 9:43 AM
6 h behind Ferney-Voltaire
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
10,920
149,923
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Ferney-Voltaire Playa del Carmen 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Ferney-Voltaire
  • 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
Ferney-Voltaire vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Ferney-Voltaire?
Yes – Ferney-Voltaire is pricier by about 116%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,891 per month in Ferney-Voltaire and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,551 in Ferney-Voltaire.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $2,509 per month in Ferney-Voltaire and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Ferney-Voltaire and in Playa del Carmen?
Groceries cost about 38% more in Ferney-Voltaire, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Ferney-Voltaire or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Ferney-Voltaire at $2,594. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ferney-Voltaire it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Ferney-Voltaire or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ferney-Voltaire makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Ferney-Voltaire vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?