Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Airolo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $3,536 in Airolo, rent and utilities included – about $28,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
171

Cost of Living Index in Airolo
Learn more

Airolo Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Airolo

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,536

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Airolo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Airolo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,536 in Airolo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Airolo $3,536

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,247 in Airolo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Airolo $5,247

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $6,958 in Airolo, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Airolo $6,958

Playa del Carmen is about 66% cheaper than Airolo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Airolo is 162% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$31.81 CHF 25.97

-66.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$115 CHF 93.9

-61.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$20.32 CHF 16.59

-41.98%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$6.50 CHF 5.31

-41.69%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$6.11 CHF 4.99

-78.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$5.61 CHF 4.58

-85.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$9.60 CHF 7.84

-67.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$6.59 CHF 5.38

-25.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.88 CHF 1.53

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.91 CHF 3.19

-43.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$4.29 CHF 3.50

-65.73%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$7.18 CHF 5.86

-65.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$24.80 CHF 20.24

-70.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$26.99 CHF 22.04

-70.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$38.28 CHF 31.25

-66.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.30 CHF 2.70

-12.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.14 CHF 1.75

-35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.57 CHF 2.10

-3.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$4.12 CHF 3.37

-50.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$2.09 CHF 1.71

-3.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.17 CHF 1.77

-12.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.47 CHF 2.02

-53.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.40 CHF 1.14

-11.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$11.86 CHF 9.68

-64.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$11.57 CHF 9.44

-15.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$3.08 CHF 2.52

-48.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.47 CHF 2.84

-20.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$4.72 CHF 3.85

-89.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$93.6 CHF 76.4

-70.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$7.24 CHF 5.91

-34.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$5.28 CHF 4.31

-38.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$81.2 CHF 66.3

-93.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.59 CHF 2.12

-40.93%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$37.1K CHF 30.3K

-42.85%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$45.4K CHF 37.1K

-48.77%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$269 CHF 219

-68.92%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$31.34 CHF 25.59

-26.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$58.7 CHF 47.90

-52.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$89.1 CHF 72.8

-36.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$45.65 CHF 37.27

-38.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$26.14 CHF 21.34

-80.87%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$2,802 CHF 2,288

-92.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$37.5K CHF 30.6K

-86.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$143 CHF 117

-69.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$65.6 CHF 53.6

-35.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$177 CHF 144

-58.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$209 CHF 171

-57.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,565 CHF 1,278

-36.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$1,550 CHF 1,265

-75.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$2,873 CHF 2,345

-41.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$2,414 CHF 1,971

-55.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$13.8K CHF 11.3K

-71.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$11.3K CHF 9,196

-45.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.03

464.04%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Airolo: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Airolo

$1.5K 43.8% 305% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Airolo

$571 16.2% 122% $314

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Airolo

$502 14.2% 150% $301

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Airolo

$359 10.1% 167% $224

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Airolo

$267 7.6% 141% $156

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Airolo

$141 4% 113% $75

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Airolo

$146 4.1% 190% $96

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,565 in Airolo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $115 in Airolo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $571 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇭 Airolo

🕒 Local time

05:28 5:28 AM

11:28 11:28 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.816 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.917 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Airolo 8,780 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Airolo

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

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

Airolo costs about 194% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $5,304 in Airolo. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,565 in Airolo.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $3,536 in Airolo. That makes Playa del Carmen about 66% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 71% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Airolo at $3,536. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Airolo 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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 66% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.