Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Balzan

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,939 in Balzan, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
92

Cost of Living Index in Balzan
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Balzan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Balzan

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,939

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,939 in Balzan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Balzan $1,939

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,927 in Balzan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Balzan $2,927

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,915 in Balzan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Balzan $3,915

Playa del Carmen is about 38% cheaper than Balzan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Balzan is 42% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$18.68 €16.73

-41.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$91.1 €81.6

-52.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$12.10 €10.84

-2.64%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.09 €2.76

23.30%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$1.93 €1.73

-33.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$1.03 €0.92

-24.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$3.26 €2.92

-2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.45 €2.19

101.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.25 €1.12

12.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.97 €0.87

128.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$3.52 €3.16

-59.66%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$4.30 €3.85

-41.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.30 €9.23

-29.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$9.10 €8.15

-15.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$12.40 €11.10

2.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.64 €2.37

5.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.04 €1.83

-32.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.68 €1.51

51.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$1.15 €1.03

84.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.86 €0.77

125.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.91 €0.81

107.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.85 €0.76

35.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.99 €0.89

19.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$6.09 €5.46

-29.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$6.02 €5.39

65.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.07 €0.96

47.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$1.49 €1.34

79.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$3.01 €2.70

-81.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.23 €2.00

122.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.76 €1.58

89.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$32.03 €28.69

-83.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.52 €1.36

-5.26%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$27.5K €24.6K

-24.79%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$32.2K €28.9K

-27.17%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$154 €138

-44.99%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$19.90 €17.82

17.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$28.97 €25.95

-1.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$73.6 €65.9

-22.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$11.40 €10.21

-54.91%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$280 €250

-26.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$12.1K €10.9K

-67.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$58.0 €52.0

-25.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$69.1 €61.9

-40.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$110 €98.5

-32.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$130 €117

-31.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,132 €1,014

-13.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$950 €851

-59.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,804 €1,615

-5.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,522 €1,364

-29.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$4,057 €3,633

-2.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$2,876 €2,575

114.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,000 €896

-26.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.05

182.72%

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 Balzan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Balzan

$950 49% 150% $569

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Balzan

$245 12.6% 3.8% $9.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Balzan

$256 13.2% 26.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Balzan

$203 10.5% 48.3% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Balzan

$165 8.5% 48% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Balzan

$96 5% 43.1% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Balzan

$23 * 1.2% 54.3% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,132 in Balzan. 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 36% higher in Balzan, 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $91 in Balzan. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $245 in Balzan – so Balzan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇹 Balzan

🕒 Local time

19:05 7:05 PM

01:05 1:05 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,700

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Balzan 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Balzan

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 Balzan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,939 in Balzan – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 38% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,908 in Balzan. 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 $980 there versus $1,132 in Balzan.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $91 in Balzan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Balzan – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Balzan at $1,939. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Balzan 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.

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