Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dubendorf

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,703 in Dubendorf, rent and utilities included – about $30,000 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
178

Cost of Living Index in Dubendorf
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Dubendorf Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Dubendorf

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,703

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,703 in Dubendorf.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Dubendorf $3,703

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,478 in Dubendorf.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dubendorf $5,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $7,254 in Dubendorf.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Dubendorf $7,254

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 67% less than in Dubendorf, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Dubendorf is 172% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$30.16 CHF 24.87

-63.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$123 CHF 101

-64.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$16.15 CHF 13.32

-27.06%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$6.08 CHF 5.02

-37.34%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$5.41 CHF 4.46

-76.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$4.93 CHF 4.07

-84.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$8.67 CHF 7.15

-63.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.83 CHF 5.63

-27.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.18 CHF 1.80

-35.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$3.64 CHF 3.00

-39.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$4.38 CHF 3.61

-67.58%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$7.01 CHF 5.79

-64.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$31.29 CHF 25.81

-76.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$25.64 CHF 21.15

-69.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$41.22 CHF 33.99

-69.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.59 CHF 2.96

-22.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.15 CHF 1.78

-36.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.07 CHF 2.53

-16.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$6.43 CHF 5.30

-67.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$2.36 CHF 1.95

-17.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$2.25 CHF 1.86

-16.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$2.39 CHF 1.97

-51.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.37 CHF 1.13

-13.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$10.79 CHF 8.90

-60.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$13.09 CHF 10.80

-23.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.34 CHF 1.93

-32.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.44 CHF 2.83

-22.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$2.44 CHF 2.01

-77.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$48.16 CHF 39.72

-44.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$4.52 CHF 3.73

9.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$2.85 CHF 2.35

16.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$60.6 CHF 50.0

-91.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.22 CHF 1.83

-35.14%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$39.1K CHF 32.3K

-47.20%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$38.7K CHF 31.9K

-39.39%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$236 CHF 194

-64.00%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$28.31 CHF 23.35

-17.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$66.6 CHF 54.9

-56.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$119 CHF 98.3

-52.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$78.9 CHF 65.1

-63.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$23.79 CHF 19.62

-78.39%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$1,532 CHF 1,263

-86.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$25.0K CHF 20.6K

-84.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$137 CHF 113

-68.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$87.2 CHF 71.9

-52.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$148 CHF 122

-50.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$170 CHF 141

-47.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,783 CHF 1,471

-45.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$1,816 CHF 1,498

-79.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,871 CHF 2,368

-40.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$2,799 CHF 2,308

-61.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$12.0K CHF 9,885

-67.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$7,263 CHF 5,990

-15.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,773 CHF 3,112

-80.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.41

375.10%

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 Dubendorf: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Dubendorf

$1.8K 49.1% 377% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Dubendorf

$607 16.4% 138% $352

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Dubendorf

$461 12.5% 128% $259

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Dubendorf

$330 8.9% 142% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Dubendorf

$245 6.6% 119% $133

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Dubendorf

$167 4.5% 148% $99

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dubendorf

$77 2.1% 52% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,783 in Dubendorf. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubendorf pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $123 in Dubendorf for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $607 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇭 Dubendorf

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

09:50 9:50 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

26,759

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.825 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.92 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dubendorf 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dubendorf

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 Dubendorf: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $3,703 in Dubendorf, so Playa del Carmen is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

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 $1,783 in Dubendorf. 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 $3,703 in Dubendorf – Playa del Carmen is about 67% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 45% less than in Dubendorf. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,703 in Dubendorf, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dubendorf. 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 67% less than in Dubendorf. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.