Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bålsta

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,563 in Bålsta, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Bålsta
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Bålsta Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bålsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,563

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Bålsta actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,563 in Bålsta.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Bålsta $1,563

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,445 in Bålsta.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Bålsta $2,445

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,328 in Bålsta.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Bålsta $3,328

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 23% less than in Bålsta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Bålsta is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$13.67 SEK 134

-20.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$66.8 SEK 656

-35.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.80 SEK 86.4

33.86%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.95 SEK 38.79

-3.54%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.68 SEK 26.31

-52.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$2.24 SEK 21.99

-65.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$7.16 SEK 70.3

-55.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.96 SEK 68.3

-29.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.49 SEK 14.62

-5.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.00 SEK 19.66

11.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$3.51 SEK 34.42

-59.54%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.71 SEK 36.45

-32.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$11.01 SEK 108

-34.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$12.21 SEK 120

-36.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$11.02 SEK 108

15.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.50 SEK 24.52

11.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.60 SEK 25.54

-47.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$2.07 SEK 20.32

23.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$2.90 SEK 28.42

-26.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.50 SEK 14.75

29.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.18 SEK 11.59

60.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.55 SEK 15.20

-25.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.99 SEK 9.73

19.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$7.26 SEK 71.3

-40.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.20 SEK 100

-2.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.54 SEK 15.07

2.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.96 SEK 19.26

36.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$3.28 SEK 32.18

-83.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$79.1 SEK 776

-66.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$6.03 SEK 59.2

-17.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.54 SEK 15.16

116.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$77.4 SEK 760

-93.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.76 SEK 17.28

-18.18%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$33.2K SEK 325.6K

-37.71%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$33.8K SEK 331.6K

-30.56%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$50.1 SEK 491

69.38%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$20.16 SEK 198

16.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$39.59 SEK 389

-27.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$37.16 SEK 365

53.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$26.37 SEK 259

9.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$12.93 SEK 127

-60.25%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$121 SEK 1,189

70.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$5,046 SEK 49.5K

-22.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$69.2 SEK 679

-37.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$9.93 SEK 97.4

317.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$81.0 SEK 794

-8.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$113 SEK 1,107

-20.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$801 SEK 7,861

22.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$610 SEK 5,982

-37.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,368 SEK 13.4K

24.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,030 SEK 10.1K

4.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$4,003 SEK 39.3K

-1.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$2,823 SEK 27.7K

118.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,868 SEK 38.0K

-81.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.8

308.93%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bålsta: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Bålsta

$610 39% 60.1% $229

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Bålsta

$299 19.1% 17.3% $44

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Bålsta

$253 16.2% 24.8% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Bålsta

$110 7% 19.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bålsta

$123 7.9% 10% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Bålsta

$63 4% 6.4% $4.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Bålsta

$106 6.8% 110% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $801 in Bålsta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bålsta pays about 5.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $67 in Bålsta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $299 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Bålsta

🕒 Local time

07:40 7:40 AM

13:40 1:40 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

13,138

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bålsta

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 Bålsta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Bålsta. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $801 in Bålsta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,563 in Bålsta – Playa del Carmen is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 66% less than in Bålsta. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,563 in Bålsta, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Bålsta. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Bålsta on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.