Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karlstad and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,727 in Karlstad, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Karlstad
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Karlstad Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Karlstad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,727

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,727 per month in Karlstad vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Karlstad $1,727
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,665 per month in Karlstad vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Karlstad $2,665
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,603 per month in Karlstad vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Karlstad $3,603
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Karlstad costs about 43% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Karlstad sits 27% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.14 SEK 149

$10.92 MX$205

38.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.5 SEK 790

$43.37 MX$814

85.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 SEK 98.9

$11.78 MX$221

-14.52%

Cappuccino

$4.86 SEK 47.68

$3.81 MX$71.5

27.56%

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

$2.45 SEK 24.01

$1.28 MX$24.07

91.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 SEK 21.25

$0.78 MX$14.70

176.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.08 SEK 79.3

$3.17 MX$59.5

154.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.60 SEK 64.7

$4.93 MX$92.7

33.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 SEK 14.22

$1.41 MX$26.40

2.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 SEK 27.80

$2.22 MX$41.62

27.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 SEK 36.14

$1.42 MX$26.61

159.15%

Eggs

$4.37 SEK 42.85

$2.52 MX$47.36

73.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.17 SEK 99.8

$7.26 MX$136

40.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.96 SEK 137

$7.70 MX$144

81.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 SEK 174

$12.69 MX$238

39.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 SEK 28.91

$2.78 MX$52.3

6.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 SEK 26.35

$1.37 MX$25.68

95.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 SEK 29.71

$2.55 MX$47.89

18.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.40 SEK 53.0

$2.12 MX$39.86

154.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 SEK 18.80

$1.94 MX$36.39

-1.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 SEK 16.84

$1.89 MX$35.41

-8.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.64 SEK 25.87

$1.15 MX$21.53

129.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 SEK 12.74

$1.18 MX$22.13

10.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.96 SEK 68.3

$4.30 MX$80.6

61.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 SEK 99.8

$9.95 MX$187

2.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 SEK 23.79

$1.58 MX$29.73

53.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 SEK 19.98

$2.67 MX$50.1

-23.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 SEK 30.70

$0.55 MX$10.39

469.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$80.4 SEK 789

$26.62 MX$500

201.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.46 SEK 53.6

$4.97 MX$93.3

9.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.29 SEK 12.67

$3.33 MX$62.5

-61.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.4 SEK 592

$5.36 MX$101

1026.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 SEK 16.90

$1.44 MX$27.11

19.44%

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

$32.6K SEK 320.4K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

57.98%

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

$33.8K SEK 331.2K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

43.84%

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

$99.4 SEK 975

$84.8 MX$1,592

17.21%

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

$15.73 SEK 154

$23.41 MX$439

-32.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.76 SEK 429

$28.66 MX$538

52.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.27 SEK 444

$57.1 MX$1,071

-20.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.66 SEK 163

$28.91 MX$543

-42.37%

Cinema Ticket

$14.08 SEK 138

$5.14 MX$96.5

173.93%

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

$126 SEK 1,236

$207 MX$3,878

-39.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 SEK 1,037

$43.35 MX$814

143.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.85 SEK 391

$41.44 MX$778

-3.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.9 SEK 744

$74.2 MX$1,393

2.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 SEK 1,384

$89.3 MX$1,676

58.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$868 SEK 8,518

$980 MX$18.4K

-11.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 SEK 5,638

$381 MX$7,150

50.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 SEK 11.6K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-30.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$867 SEK 8,504

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-19.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,849 SEK 37.8K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-2.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,779 SEK 27.3K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-54.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,203 SEK 31.4K

$735 MX$13.8K

336.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.09

11.45

-64.28%

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

Last update for Karlstad: October 25, 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

Karlstad

$575 33.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 33.7% $194

Groceries & Markets

Karlstad

$370 21.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 31.2% $116

Eating Out

Karlstad

$282 16.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 28.2% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Karlstad

$163 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 31.5% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karlstad

$159 9.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 13.9% $22

Getting Around

Karlstad

$105 6.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 51.9% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Karlstad

$73 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 8.3% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $868 in Karlstad 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 Karlstad are about 4.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81 in Karlstad versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $370 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Karlstad

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:24 4:24 AM

22:24 10:24 PM

6 h behind Karlstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,797

149,923

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Karlstad Playa del Carmen 8,620 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Karlstad
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

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

Yes – Karlstad is pricier by about 43%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,590 per month in Karlstad 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 Karlstad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $868 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81 in Karlstad and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,727 in Karlstad and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 30% cheaper.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Karlstad at $1,727. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Karlstad 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 $1,727 in Karlstad. 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, Karlstad makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.