Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lachen and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $3,516 in Lachen, rent and utilities included – about $27,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

169

Cost of Living Index in Lachen
Learn more

Lachen Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Lachen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,516

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,516 in Lachen versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Lachen $3,516
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,284 in Lachen versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Lachen $5,284
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,052 in Lachen versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Lachen $7,052
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Lachen is roughly 192% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lachen is 160% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$33.64 CHF 27.48

$10.67 MX$199

215.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$124 CHF 102

$43.80 MX$815

183.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.24 CHF 13.27

$11.79 MX$219

37.74%

Cappuccino

$6.30 CHF 5.15

$3.79 MX$70.5

66.23%

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

$5.67 CHF 4.63

$1.30 MX$24.14

336.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.08 CHF 4.15

$0.83 MX$15.51

512.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.64 CHF 7.06

$3.15 MX$58.6

174.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.61 CHF 7.85

$4.93 MX$91.8

94.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 CHF 1.78

$1.41 MX$26.22

54.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.42 CHF 2.80

$2.20 MX$40.86

55.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.43 CHF 3.62

$1.47 MX$27.40

201.36%

Eggs

$7.62 CHF 6.23

$2.50 MX$46.47

204.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.92 CHF 21.99

$7.29 MX$136

269.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$26.45 CHF 21.61

$7.95 MX$148

232.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$40.42 CHF 33.02

$12.86 MX$239

214.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.64 CHF 2.97

$2.90 MX$53.9

25.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 CHF 1.70

$1.38 MX$25.74

50.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 CHF 2.21

$2.49 MX$46.36

8.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.75 CHF 3.88

$2.03 MX$37.78

133.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 CHF 1.62

$2.02 MX$37.69

-1.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 CHF 1.80

$1.90 MX$35.42

15.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 CHF 2.01

$1.14 MX$21.30

114.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 CHF 1.16

$1.24 MX$23.06

14.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.83 CHF 8.85

$4.27 MX$79.5

153.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.20 CHF 10.78

$9.81 MX$183

34.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 CHF 2.36

$1.59 MX$29.51

81.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 CHF 2.84

$2.75 MX$51.1

26.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.23 CHF 3.46

$0.51 MX$9.58

729.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 CHF 70.5

$27.39 MX$510

215.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.19 CHF 6.69

$4.76 MX$88.6

72.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.75 CHF 3.88

$3.25 MX$60.5

46.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.0 CHF 71.1

$5.39 MX$100

1514.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 CHF 1.86

$1.53 MX$28.44

49.02%

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

$40.1K CHF 32.8K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

89.02%

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

$39.0K CHF 31.9K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

67.75%

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

$240 CHF 196

$83.5 MX$1,554

187.11%

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

$31.91 CHF 26.07

$23.19 MX$431

37.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.5 CHF 53.5

$27.61 MX$514

137.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$85.2 CHF 69.6

$56.4 MX$1,050

51.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.54 CHF 39.66

$28.19 MX$525

72.19%

Cinema Ticket

$21.89 CHF 17.89

$5.00 MX$93.1

337.80%

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

$2,982 CHF 2,436

$207 MX$3,854

1339.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$37.3K CHF 30.5K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

613.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$142 CHF 116

$43.45 MX$809

227.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$89.7 CHF 73.3

$42.54 MX$792

110.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$147 CHF 120

$72.8 MX$1,354

102.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$175 CHF 143

$88.4 MX$1,645

97.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,855 CHF 1,516

$995 MX$18.5K

86.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 CHF 1,289

$382 MX$7,116

312.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,967 CHF 2,424

$1,674 MX$31.2K

77.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,518 CHF 2,057

$1,081 MX$20.1K

133.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$14.9K CHF 12.2K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

282.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.1K CHF 9,078

$6,138 MX$114.2K

81.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$9,845 CHF 8,043

$832 MX$15.5K

1082.91%

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 Lachen: 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

Lachen

$1.6K 44.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 75.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Lachen

$589 16.7%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 56.3% $331

Eating Out

Lachen

$499 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 59.9% $299

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lachen

$337 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 60.2% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Lachen

$249 7.1%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 55.4% $138

Getting Around

Lachen

$135 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 62.7% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Lachen

$129 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 48.5% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,855 in Lachen and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lachen pays about 12 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $124 in Lachen vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $589 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Lachen

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:44 9:44 AM

03:44 3:44 AM

6 h behind Lachen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.817 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

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).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lachen Playa del Carmen 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lachen
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 66% lower than in Lachen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lachen is about 12 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,855 in Lachen versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 68% less than in Lachen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $2,982 in Lachen versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,516 in Lachen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lachen. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Lachen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.