Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Giubiasco

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $3,513 in Giubiasco, rent and utilities included – about $27,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
169

Cost of Living Index in Giubiasco
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Giubiasco Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Giubiasco

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,513 in Giubiasco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Giubiasco $3,513

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,442 in Giubiasco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Giubiasco $5,442

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $7,370 in Giubiasco, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Giubiasco $7,370

Playa del Carmen is about 66% cheaper than Giubiasco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Giubiasco is 160% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$34.96 CHF 28.65

-69.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$181 CHF 148

-75.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$19.31 CHF 15.82

-38.94%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$4.84 CHF 3.97

-21.69%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$5.54 CHF 4.54

-76.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$4.27 CHF 3.50

-80.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$9.56 CHF 7.83

-67.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$7.14 CHF 5.85

-30.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$2.27 CHF 1.86

-37.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$3.72 CHF 3.05

-40.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$4.05 CHF 3.31

-63.70%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$7.17 CHF 5.88

-65.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$26.32 CHF 21.57

-72.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$28.70 CHF 23.52

-72.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$39.46 CHF 32.33

-67.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$3.36 CHF 2.75

-13.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.85 CHF 1.52

-25.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$2.75 CHF 2.25

-9.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$6.48 CHF 5.31

-68.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.86 CHF 1.53

8.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$2.11 CHF 1.73

-9.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$2.38 CHF 1.95

-52.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.33 CHF 1.09

-6.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$11.05 CHF 9.05

-61.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$14.78 CHF 12.11

-33.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$3.26 CHF 2.67

-51.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$3.97 CHF 3.25

-30.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$4.34 CHF 3.55

-88.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$99.6 CHF 81.6

-72.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$7.43 CHF 6.09

-35.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$5.42 CHF 4.44

-40.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$35.67 CHF 29.23

-84.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$2.34 CHF 1.92

-34.62%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$39.0K CHF 32.0K

-45.66%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$39.4K CHF 32.3K

-41.02%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$305 CHF 250

-72.67%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$24.85 CHF 20.36

-6.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$48.44 CHF 39.70

-43.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$86.1 CHF 70.5

-34.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$45.33 CHF 37.15

-37.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$20.72 CHF 16.98

-75.87%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$3,192 CHF 2,616

-93.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$35.5K CHF 29.1K

-85.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$110 CHF 89.9

-60.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$47.62 CHF 39.02

-10.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$152 CHF 125

-52.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$170 CHF 140

-48.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$1,811 CHF 1,484

-45.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$1,536 CHF 1,259

-75.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$2,884 CHF 2,363

-41.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$2,535 CHF 2,077

-57.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$15.0K CHF 12.3K

-73.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$11.2K CHF 9,206

-45.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

1.9

502.63%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Giubiasco: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Giubiasco

$1.5K 43.7% 302% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Giubiasco

$606 17.3% 135% $349

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Giubiasco

$497 14.2% 148% $297

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Giubiasco

$379 10.8% 182% $244

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Giubiasco

$216 6.2% 94.2% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Giubiasco

$128 3.6% 91.9% $61

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Giubiasco

$151 4.3% 200% $101

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,811 in Giubiasco. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $181 in Giubiasco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $606 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇭 Giubiasco

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

09:33 9:33 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

8,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.819 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.919 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Giubiasco 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Giubiasco

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 Giubiasco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Giubiasco is pricier by about 192%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $5,269 in Giubiasco. 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 $995 there versus $1,811 in Giubiasco.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,192 in Giubiasco. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 135% more in Giubiasco, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Giubiasco at $3,513. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Giubiasco 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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 66% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.