Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mendrisio and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $3,034 in Mendrisio, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Mendrisio
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Mendrisio Living Index
59

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

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Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,034

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,034 per month in Mendrisio vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Mendrisio $3,034
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,758 per month in Mendrisio vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Mendrisio $3,758
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,483 per month in Mendrisio vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Mendrisio $4,483
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Mendrisio costs about 151% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mendrisio sits 125% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$34.26 CHF 28.21

$10.76 MX$199

218.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$177 CHF 146

$43.03 MX$795

310.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.99 CHF 15.64

$11.79 MX$218

61.07%

Cappuccino

$4.80 CHF 3.96

$3.87 MX$71.4

24.03%

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

$5.41 CHF 4.46

$1.37 MX$25.29

294.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 CHF 3.60

$0.84 MX$15.44

420.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.36 CHF 6.88

$3.10 MX$57.3

169.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.03 CHF 5.79

$5.07 MX$93.6

38.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 CHF 1.80

$1.44 MX$26.55

51.39%

White Bread (500g)

$3.70 CHF 3.04

$2.23 MX$41.23

65.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.15 CHF 3.42

$1.47 MX$27.17

182.31%

Eggs

$7.07 CHF 5.83

$2.53 MX$46.71

179.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.44 CHF 20.95

$7.30 MX$135

248.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.11 CHF 23.15

$7.86 MX$145

257.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.04 CHF 32.15

$12.79 MX$236

205.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 CHF 2.60

$2.90 MX$53.6

8.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 CHF 1.40

$1.44 MX$26.53

18.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 CHF 2.11

$2.55 MX$47.07

0.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.49 CHF 5.35

$2.06 MX$38.03

215.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 CHF 1.52

$2.00 MX$36.97

-8.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 CHF 1.76

$2.01 MX$37.07

5.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CHF 1.93

$1.19 MX$22.02

96.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.96

$1.26 MX$23.23

-7.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.74 CHF 8.84

$4.40 MX$81.4

144.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.64 CHF 12.06

$9.59 MX$177

52.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 CHF 2.77

$1.59 MX$29.41

111.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 CHF 3.36

$2.81 MX$51.9

45.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.03 CHF 2.50

$0.57 MX$10.47

431.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.07 CHF 5.82

$4.98 MX$92.1

41.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.38 CHF 4.43

$3.50 MX$64.6

53.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$78.3 CHF 64.5

$5.40 MX$99.8

1349.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 CHF 1.81

$1.47 MX$27.08

49.66%

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

$34.6K CHF 28.5K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

64.98%

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

$38.6K CHF 31.8K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

61.38%

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

$304 CHF 250

$84.2 MX$1,556

260.65%

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

$25.15 CHF 20.71

$23.99 MX$443

4.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.38 CHF 39.85

$29.02 MX$536

66.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.1 CHF 60.2

$63.0 MX$1,164

16.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$21.74 CHF 17.91

$4.94 MX$91.3

340.08%

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

$3,187 CHF 2,625

$204 MX$3,763

1465.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$38.5K CHF 31.7K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

875.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 CHF 87.8

$43.60 MX$806

144.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.52 CHF 39.14

$43.12 MX$797

10.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 CHF 135

$75.8 MX$1,400

117.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$166 CHF 137

$88.6 MX$1,637

87.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,381 CHF 1,137

$1,008 MX$18.6K

36.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,199 CHF 987

$374 MX$6,911

220.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,944 CHF 5,719

$754 MX$13.9K

820.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.37

11.45

-79.30%

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

Last update for Mendrisio: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mendrisio

$1.2K 39.5%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 68.8% $825

Groceries & Markets

Mendrisio

$594 19.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 56.5% $335

Eating Out

Mendrisio

$484 15.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 58.2% $281

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mendrisio

$377 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 63.6% $240

Clothing & Footwear

Mendrisio

$218 7.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 48.2% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Mendrisio

$117 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 37.5% $44

Getting Around

Mendrisio

$46 * 1.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 14.1% $6.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,381 in Mendrisio versus $1,008 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 run about 821% higher in Mendrisio, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $177 in Mendrisio versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $594 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Mendrisio

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

22:25 10:25 PM

7 h behind Mendrisio

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,562

149,923

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mendrisio Playa del Carmen 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mendrisio
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

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

Yes – Mendrisio is pricier by about 151%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,551 per month in Mendrisio and $1,816 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,034 in Mendrisio and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 151%.

Kindergarten costs $3,187 per month in Mendrisio and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Mendrisio at $3,034. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mendrisio 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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