Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kalix

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,674 in Kalix, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Kalix
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Kalix Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Kalix

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,674 in Kalix.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Kalix $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,718 in Kalix.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kalix $2,718

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,761 in Kalix.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Kalix $3,761

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 28% less than in Kalix, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Kalix is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$13.52 SEK 133

-21.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$87.6 SEK 859

-49.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$10.26 SEK 101

14.91%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$3.96 SEK 38.87

-4.29%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$2.36 SEK 23.20

-44.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$2.27 SEK 22.31

-63.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$6.86 SEK 67.3

-54.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$7.63 SEK 74.8

-35.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$1.78 SEK 17.42

-20.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$2.66 SEK 26.10

-17.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$3.31 SEK 32.48

-55.59%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$4.56 SEK 44.73

-45.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$12.59 SEK 124

-42.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$11.50 SEK 113

-30.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$19.73 SEK 194

-34.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$3.24 SEK 31.82

-10.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$2.33 SEK 22.88

-40.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$2.92 SEK 28.67

-14.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$4.18 SEK 40.99

-51.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$1.58 SEK 15.54

27.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$1.48 SEK 14.54

28.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$2.16 SEK 21.23

-47.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$1.39 SEK 13.61

-10.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$8.01 SEK 78.6

-46.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$10.43 SEK 102

-5.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$2.12 SEK 20.83

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$2.53 SEK 24.85

8.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$3.55 SEK 34.86

-85.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$77.5 SEK 760

-64.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$5.33 SEK 52.3

-10.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$1.66 SEK 16.29

95.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$60.4 SEK 592

-91.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$1.88 SEK 18.41

-18.62%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$30.4K SEK 297.8K

-30.12%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$29.8K SEK 292.7K

-22.03%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$102 SEK 999

-18.03%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$20.82 SEK 204

11.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$40.61 SEK 398

-32.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$38.64 SEK 379

46.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$30.28 SEK 297

-6.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$17.77 SEK 174

-71.86%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$163 SEK 1,603

26.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$5,146 SEK 50.5K

1.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$93.2 SEK 914

-53.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$40.94 SEK 402

3.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$88.3 SEK 866

-17.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$136 SEK 1,330

-34.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$760 SEK 7,459

30.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$553 SEK 5,428

-30.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$1,181 SEK 11.6K

41.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,037 SEK 10.2K

4.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$3,716 SEK 36.5K

5.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$2,489 SEK 24.4K

146.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.38

238.76%

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 Kalix: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Kalix

$553 33% 44.7% $171

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Kalix

$363 21.7% 40.9% $105

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Kalix

$255 15.2% 27.1% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Kalix

$163 9.8% 21.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Kalix

$161 9.6% 44.9% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Kalix

$74 4.4% 11.6% $7.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kalix

$105 6.3% 109% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $760 in Kalix. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $88 in Kalix for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $363 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Kalix

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

17:03 5:03 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,734

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.08 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.02 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kalix 8,780 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kalix

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 Kalix: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Kalix. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $2,512 in Kalix 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $760 in Kalix. 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 65% less than in Kalix. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $163 in Kalix. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,674 in Kalix, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kalix. 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.