Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cham

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,575 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $28,500 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
172

Cost of Living Index in Cham
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Cham Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,575

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,575 in Cham.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Cham $3,575

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,453 in Cham.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Cham $5,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $7,331 in Cham.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Cham $7,331

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 66% less than in Cham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Cham is 163% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$29.74 CHF 24.67

-63.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$122 CHF 101

-64.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$17.93 CHF 14.87

-34.30%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.82 CHF 4.83

-34.54%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$5.32 CHF 4.42

-75.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$4.87 CHF 4.04

-83.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$8.45 CHF 7.01

-62.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$6.53 CHF 5.42

-24.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-33.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$3.76 CHF 3.12

-40.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$3.62 CHF 3.00

-60.77%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$7.27 CHF 6.03

-65.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$26.38 CHF 21.88

-72.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$28.65 CHF 23.77

-73.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$42.06 CHF 34.89

-69.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.91 CHF 3.25

-28.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.15 CHF 1.78

-36.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.10 CHF 2.57

-17.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$4.58 CHF 3.80

-53.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.25 CHF 1.87

-13.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.24 CHF 1.86

-15.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.39 CHF 1.98

-51.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.11 CHF 0.92

6.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$11.02 CHF 9.15

-60.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.08 CHF 10.02

-17.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.82 CHF 2.34

-43.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.10 CHF 2.58

-13.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$5.13 CHF 4.26

-89.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$146 CHF 121

-81.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.44 CHF 3.69

11.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.96 CHF 2.45

12.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$59.7 CHF 49.49

-91.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$2.19 CHF 1.82

-34.25%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$39.7K CHF 32.9K

-47.91%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$39.9K CHF 33.1K

-41.21%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$286 CHF 237

-70.35%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$29.15 CHF 24.18

-19.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$54.8 CHF 45.49

-47.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$85.3 CHF 70.7

-33.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$40.01 CHF 33.19

-27.74%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$22.10 CHF 18.34

-76.74%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$1,488 CHF 1,234

-86.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$24.7K CHF 20.5K

-84.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$137 CHF 114

-68.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$54.0 CHF 44.76

-23.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$157 CHF 130

-52.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$249 CHF 206

-64.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,780 CHF 1,477

-44.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$1,566 CHF 1,299

-75.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,896 CHF 2,402

-41.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,704 CHF 2,243

-60.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$13.0K CHF 10.8K

-69.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$11.7K CHF 9,730

-47.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cham: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Cham

$1.6K 43.8% 311% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Cham

$597 16.7% 134% $343

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Cham

$458 12.8% 126% $255

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Cham

$370 10.4% 170% $233

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Cham

$268 7.5% 140% $157

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Cham

$129 3.6% 92.3% $62

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Cham

$186 5.2% 268% $135

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,780 in Cham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $122 in Cham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $597 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇭 Cham

🕒 Local time

12:41 12:41 PM

18:41 6:41 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

17,060

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.924 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Cham 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
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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 Cham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 197% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $5,362 in Cham to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,780 in Cham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,488 in Cham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 134% higher in Cham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,575 in Cham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Cham. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Cham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.