Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Helsingor

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,497 in Helsingor, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 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
118

Cost of Living Index in Helsingor
Learn more

Helsingor Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Helsingor

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,497

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,497 in Helsingor.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Helsingor $2,497

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,769 in Helsingor.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Helsingor $3,769

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,041 in Helsingor.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Helsingor $5,041

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 52% less than in Helsingor, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Helsingor is 85% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$22.86 DKK 152

-53.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$112 DKK 749

-61.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$14.50 DKK 96.7

-18.69%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$6.14 DKK 40.96

-38.27%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$4.39 DKK 29.27

-70.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$3.38 DKK 22.55

-75.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$7.80 DKK 52.0

-59.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$7.38 DKK 49.18

-33.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.98 DKK 13.18

-28.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$3.60 DKK 24.02

-38.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$2.28 DKK 15.18

-35.53%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$4.34 DKK 28.97

-42.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$14.79 DKK 98.6

-50.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$11.27 DKK 75.1

-29.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$18.35 DKK 122

-29.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$3.14 DKK 20.92

-7.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$3.60 DKK 24.00

-61.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$3.71 DKK 24.72

-32.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$4.16 DKK 27.74

-51.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.91 DKK 12.74

5.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.79 DKK 11.92

6.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$2.04 DKK 13.60

-44.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.94 DKK 6.25

31.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$8.80 DKK 58.7

-51.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$10.23 DKK 68.2

-4.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.59 DKK 10.58

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.19 DKK 14.58

25.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$3.67 DKK 24.45

-86.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$120 DKK 797

-77.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$7.16 DKK 47.72

-33.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$2.15 DKK 14.31

51.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$67.3 DKK 449

-91.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$2.36 DKK 15.75

-35.17%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$52.8K DKK 352.3K

-59.85%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$53.9K DKK 359.6K

-56.86%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$218 DKK 1,452

-61.65%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$11.54 DKK 76.9

100.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$34.38 DKK 229

-19.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$48.97 DKK 327

15.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$32.33 DKK 216

-12.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$18.02 DKK 120

-72.25%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$498 DKK 3,319

-58.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$3,933 DKK 26.2K

33.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$118 DKK 789

-63.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$47.52 DKK 317

-10.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$139 DKK 924

-47.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$192 DKK 1,278

-53.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$983 DKK 6,552

1.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$1,015 DKK 6,770

-62.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,702 DKK 11.4K

-1.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,547 DKK 10.3K

-30.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$6,142 DKK 41.0K

-36.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$3,314 DKK 22.1K

85.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$2,699 DKK 18.0K

-69.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.67

211.99%

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 Helsingor: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Helsingor

$1K 40.7% 166% $633

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Helsingor

$372 14.9% 44.7% $115

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Helsingor

$385 15.4% 92.2% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Helsingor

$264 10.6% 96.3% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Helsingor

$223 8.9% 101% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Helsingor

$85 3.4% 28% $19

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Helsingor

$152 6.1% 201% $102

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $983 in Helsingor. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Helsingor pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $112 in Helsingor for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $372 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇩🇰 Helsingor

🕒 Local time

19:15 7:15 PM

01:15 1:15 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

47,364

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Danish Krone DKK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

1 DKK = 0.15 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DKK, 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 = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Danish Krone exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 DKK (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.46 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Helsingor 8,700 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Helsingor

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 Helsingor: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $983 in Helsingor. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $498 in Helsingor. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Helsingor. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,497 in Helsingor, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Helsingor. 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, Helsingor on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.