Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Boras

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,888 in Boras, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Boras
Learn more

Boras Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Boras

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,888

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,888 in Boras.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Boras $1,888

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,215 in Boras.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Boras $2,215

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,542 in Boras.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Boras $2,542

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 36% less than in Boras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Boras is 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$12.97 SEK 129

-15.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$92.1 SEK 915

-52.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.21 SEK 101

15.38%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.20 SEK 41.68

-9.29%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.13 SEK 21.16

-39.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.03 SEK 20.14

-61.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$6.84 SEK 67.9

-53.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$7.24 SEK 71.9

-31.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.62 SEK 16.12

-12.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$2.57 SEK 25.50

-13.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$3.10 SEK 30.77

-54.19%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$4.45 SEK 44.18

-43.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$12.48 SEK 124

-41.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$11.34 SEK 113

-32.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$15.54 SEK 154

-18.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.10 SEK 30.74

-10.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.62 SEK 26.05

-47.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.83 SEK 28.12

-9.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$3.61 SEK 35.85

-41.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.53 SEK 15.23

26.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.36 SEK 13.51

38.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.24 SEK 22.22

-48.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.33 SEK 13.22

-11.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$6.82 SEK 67.7

-36.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$8.09 SEK 80.3

22.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.74 SEK 17.32

-9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.58 SEK 15.74

68.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$3.54 SEK 35.20

-84.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$77.2 SEK 767

-65.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.89 SEK 48.56

1.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.12 SEK 11.14

197.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$41.83 SEK 415

-87.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.73 SEK 17.20

-16.76%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$24.8K SEK 246.4K

-16.70%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$15.2K SEK 151.0K

54.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$59.1 SEK 587

43.49%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$29.27 SEK 291

-20.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$40.09 SEK 398

-28.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$35.54 SEK 353

60.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$25.42 SEK 252

13.73%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$14.79 SEK 147

-65.25%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$160 SEK 1,590

29.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$49.67 SEK 493

-12.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$49.25 SEK 489

-15.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$81.6 SEK 811

-9.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$102 SEK 1,016

-12.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$881 SEK 8,750

-56.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,473 SEK 24.6K

-70.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.8

138.54%

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 Boras: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Boras

$881 46.7% 131% $500

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Boras

$334 17.7% 31% $79

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Boras

$250 13.3% 23.6% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Boras

$128 6.8% 6.1% $8.4

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Boras

$127 6.7% 14% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Boras

$65 3.5% 3.3% $2.2

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Boras

$102 5.4% 102% $51

Cost Breakdown

Boras pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $92 in Boras for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $334 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Boras

🕒 Local time

17:57 5:57 PM

23:57 11:57 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

66,273

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.06 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Boras 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Boras

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 Boras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 36% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 70% 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.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,888 in Boras – Playa del Carmen is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,888 in Boras, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Boras. 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, Boras on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.