Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalmar and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,953 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
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Kalmar Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,953

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,953 per month in Kalmar vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kalmar $1,953
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,895 per month in Kalmar vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kalmar $2,895
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,837 per month in Kalmar vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Kalmar $3,837
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Kalmar costs about 62% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Kalmar sits 44% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 SEK 152

$10.92 MX$203

40.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 SEK 704

$43.37 MX$808

64.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 SEK 104

$11.78 MX$219

-11.12%

Cappuccino

$4.67 SEK 46.27

$3.81 MX$71.0

22.57%

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

$2.81 SEK 27.87

$1.28 MX$23.89

119.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 SEK 25.27

$0.78 MX$14.58

226.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.69 SEK 96.0

$3.17 MX$59.0

205.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.25 SEK 71.8

$4.93 MX$91.9

47.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 SEK 14.61

$1.41 MX$26.20

4.96%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 SEK 29.84

$2.22 MX$41.30

35.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.07 SEK 30.42

$1.42 MX$26.40

116.20%

Eggs

$4.65 SEK 46.08

$2.52 MX$47.00

84.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.58 SEK 164

$7.26 MX$135

128.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.89 SEK 108

$7.70 MX$143

41.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.80 SEK 226

$12.69 MX$236

79.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 SEK 24.63

$2.78 MX$51.9

-10.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.77 SEK 27.38

$1.37 MX$25.49

102.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.57 SEK 35.35

$2.55 MX$47.52

40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.46 SEK 44.18

$2.12 MX$39.55

110.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 SEK 16.57

$1.94 MX$36.11

-13.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 SEK 22.49

$1.89 MX$35.13

20.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.93 SEK 19.07

$1.15 MX$21.36

67.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 SEK 16.56

$1.18 MX$21.96

41.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 SEK 77.1

$4.30 MX$80.0

81.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 SEK 90.5

$9.95 MX$185

-8.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 SEK 19.13

$1.58 MX$29.50

22.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 SEK 25.19

$2.67 MX$49.76

-4.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 SEK 31.79

$0.55 MX$10.31

483.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.4 SEK 776

$26.62 MX$496

194.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$10.03 SEK 99.4

$4.97 MX$92.6

101.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 SEK 17.05

$3.33 MX$62.1

-48.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$47.45 SEK 470

$5.36 MX$99.8

785.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 SEK 16.88

$1.44 MX$26.90

18.75%

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

$30.2K SEK 298.8K

$20.7K MX$385.0K

46.02%

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

$29.3K SEK 290.4K

$23.5K MX$437.2K

24.99%

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

$144 SEK 1,430

$84.8 MX$1,580

70.33%

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

$27.58 SEK 273

$23.41 MX$436

17.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.34 SEK 320

$28.66 MX$534

12.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.33 SEK 300

$57.1 MX$1,063

-46.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.38 SEK 261

$28.91 MX$539

-8.75%

Cinema Ticket

$14.58 SEK 144

$5.14 MX$95.7

183.66%

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

$142 SEK 1,401

$207 MX$3,848

-31.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,986 SEK 49.4K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

26.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.41 SEK 489

$43.35 MX$808

13.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.31 SEK 439

$41.44 MX$772

6.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 SEK 784

$74.2 MX$1,382

6.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 SEK 992

$89.3 MX$1,663

12.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 SEK 8,992

$980 MX$18.2K

-7.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$778 SEK 7,699

$381 MX$7,095

104.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,325 SEK 13.1K

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-22.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,123 SEK 11.1K

$1,075 MX$20.0K

4.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,073 SEK 40.3K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

3.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,733 SEK 27.1K

$6,158 MX$114.7K

-55.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,864 SEK 28.4K

$735 MX$13.7K

289.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

11.45

-65.68%

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

Last update for Kalmar: 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

Kalmar

$778 39.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 51% $397

Groceries & Markets

Kalmar

$384 19.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 33.7% $130

Eating Out

Kalmar

$295 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 31.4% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalmar

$204 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 33% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Kalmar

$123 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 9.1% $11

Getting Around

Kalmar

$110 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 54.1% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Kalmar

$59 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 13.2% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $908 in Kalmar 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 in Kalmar are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Kalmar versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $384 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

08:56 8:56 AM

6 h behind Kalmar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,170

149,923

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.1 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.9 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kalmar Playa del Carmen 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kalmar
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,953 in Kalmar, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 38% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,930 per month in Kalmar and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $908 in Kalmar and $980 in Playa del Carmen. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Kindergarten costs $142 per month in Kalmar and $207 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 51% more in Kalmar, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Kalmar at $1,953. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kalmar 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 $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,953 in Kalmar. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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