Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gavle

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,439 in Gavle, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Gavle
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Gavle Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gavle

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,439

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,439 in Gavle.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gavle $1,439

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,286 in Gavle.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Gavle $2,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,134 in Gavle.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Gavle $3,134

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 16% less than in Gavle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Gavle is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$13.69 SEK 136

-20.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$79.4 SEK 786

-44.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$9.31 SEK 92.2

26.32%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.42 SEK 43.79

-16.74%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.07 SEK 20.51

-35.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.91 SEK 18.95

-57.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$7.79 SEK 77.2

-60.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$7.75 SEK 76.8

-36.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.63 SEK 16.12

-9.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.61 SEK 25.84

-14.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$3.73 SEK 36.95

-60.32%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$3.81 SEK 37.80

-34.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$9.13 SEK 90.4

-17.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$10.29 SEK 102

-22.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$18.73 SEK 186

-32.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.05 SEK 30.25

-8.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.74 SEK 27.16

-47.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$3.27 SEK 32.43

-19.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$4.35 SEK 43.07

-50.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.73 SEK 17.12

16.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.82 SEK 17.99

9.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$2.55 SEK 25.26

-55.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$2.05 SEK 20.35

-41.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$7.99 SEK 79.1

-46.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$11.13 SEK 110

-9.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.64 SEK 16.23

-6.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.55 SEK 15.34

71.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$3.25 SEK 32.22

-83.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$60.4 SEK 598

-54.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$4.52 SEK 44.83

8.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.53 SEK 15.16

124.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$33.87 SEK 336

-84.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.81 SEK 17.90

-19.89%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$25.8K SEK 255.2K

-17.85%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$28.1K SEK 278.1K

-18.00%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$55.6 SEK 551

53.47%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$21.93 SEK 217

6.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$39.60 SEK 392

-28.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$47.32 SEK 469

31.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$15.22 SEK 151

-66.49%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$133 SEK 1,321

50.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$15.3K SEK 151.1K

-74.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$70.6 SEK 699

-37.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$58.8 SEK 583

-29.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$50.9 SEK 505

42.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$89.5 SEK 887

0.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$579 SEK 5,738

69.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$425 SEK 4,208

-12.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$762 SEK 7,546

120.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$665 SEK 6,593

64.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,945 SEK 19.3K

103.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,333 SEK 13.2K

360.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$3,144 SEK 31.1K

-76.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.37

239.76%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Gavle: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Gavle

$425 29.5% 13.9% $52

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Gavle

$351 24.4% 36% $93

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Gavle

$261 18.1% 30.3% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gavle

$117 8.1% 14.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gavle

$121 8.4% 8.8% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Gavle

$78 5.4% 7.4% $5.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Gavle

$86 6% 65.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $579 in Gavle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gavle pays 326% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $79.0 in Gavle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $351 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Gavle

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

10:22 10:22 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

100,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gavle 8,760 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gavle

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 Gavle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Gavle differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $1,439 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 326% lower in Gavle. 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $579 in Gavle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 120% less than in Gavle. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $133 in Gavle. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,439 in Gavle, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Gavle. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Gavle are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Gavle. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.