Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kista

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,724 in Kista, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

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

Cost of Living Index in Kista
Learn more

Kista Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kista

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,724 in Kista, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kista $1,724

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,694 in Kista, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kista $2,694

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,664 in Kista, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kista $3,664

Playa del Carmen is about 30% cheaper than Kista, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Kista is 27% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$13.46 SEK 134

-18.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$75.2 SEK 746

-42.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.13 SEK 101

16.29%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.56 SEK 45.29

-16.45%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.68 SEK 26.57

-52.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$2.19 SEK 21.73

-64.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$6.96 SEK 69.2

-54.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$7.00 SEK 69.5

-29.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.64 SEK 16.29

-14.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$2.75 SEK 27.30

-19.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$3.44 SEK 34.14

-58.72%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$4.01 SEK 39.83

-37.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$12.21 SEK 121

-40.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$12.11 SEK 120

-36.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$17.14 SEK 170

-25.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.03 SEK 30.06

-8.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.52 SEK 25.01

-45.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.90 SEK 28.81

-12.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$4.36 SEK 43.34

-51.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.61 SEK 16.03

20.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.62 SEK 16.12

16.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.28 SEK 22.67

-49.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.45 SEK 14.42

-18.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$7.27 SEK 72.3

-40.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$9.93 SEK 98.6

0.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.94 SEK 19.31

-18.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.30 SEK 22.81

16.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$3.25 SEK 32.30

-83.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$78.1 SEK 775

-65.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$6.10 SEK 60.6

-18.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.69 SEK 16.75

97.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$58.9 SEK 585

-90.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.79 SEK 17.78

-19.55%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$32.7K SEK 324.9K

-36.84%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$33.8K SEK 335.9K

-30.62%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$104 SEK 1,031

-18.30%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$25.86 SEK 257

-9.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$39.31 SEK 390

-27.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.24 SEK 370

53.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$26.02 SEK 258

11.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$16.08 SEK 160

-68.03%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$159 SEK 1,583

29.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,088 SEK 50.5K

-22.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$98.4 SEK 977

-55.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$40.15 SEK 399

3.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$91.7 SEK 910

-19.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$140 SEK 1,393

-36.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$795 SEK 7,893

23.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$598 SEK 5,937

-36.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,370 SEK 13.6K

24.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,001 SEK 9,945

7.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,976 SEK 39.5K

-0.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,847 SEK 28.3K

116.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 25, 2026

Last update for Kista: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kista

$598 34.7% 57% $217

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kista

$355 20.6% 39.2% $100

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kista

$261 15.1% 29% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kista

$169 9.8% 23.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kista

$167 9.7% 49.2% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kista

$69 4% 3.1% $2.1

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kista

$106 6.1% 109% $55

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $795 in Kista. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $75 in Kista. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $355 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Kista

🕒 Local time

18:07 6:07 PM

00:07 12:07 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

10,254

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.06 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kista 8,860 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kista

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 Kista: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kista costs about 43% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,587 in Kista. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kista, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $795 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,724 in Kista. That makes Playa del Carmen about 30% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 66% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Kista at $1,724. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kista it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,724 in Kista. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.