Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lancy

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $3,462 in Lancy, rent and utilities included – about $27,100 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
168

Cost of Living Index in Lancy
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Lancy Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lancy

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,462 in Lancy.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Lancy $3,462

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,269 in Lancy.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lancy $5,269

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $7,075 in Lancy.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Lancy $7,075

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 65% less than in Lancy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Lancy is 156% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$28.98 CHF 23.66

-63.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$124 CHF 101

-64.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$15.56 CHF 12.70

-24.23%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$6.48 CHF 5.29

-41.51%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$4.83 CHF 3.95

-73.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$4.16 CHF 3.40

-80.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$9.04 CHF 7.38

-65.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$7.76 CHF 6.34

-36.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.27 CHF 1.85

-37.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.92 CHF 2.39

-24.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$3.18 CHF 2.60

-53.77%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$7.91 CHF 6.46

-68.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$24.19 CHF 19.75

-69.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$29.43 CHF 24.03

-72.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$39.61 CHF 32.34

-67.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.61 CHF 2.94

-19.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.74 CHF 1.42

-20.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$2.76 CHF 2.25

-9.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$4.78 CHF 3.90

-57.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.63 CHF 1.33

23.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.00 CHF 1.64

-5.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.24 CHF 1.83

-49.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$1.35 CHF 1.10

-8.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$11.16 CHF 9.11

-61.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$12.03 CHF 9.82

-18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.29 CHF 1.87

-30.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.91 CHF 2.37

-5.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$4.58 CHF 3.74

-88.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$107 CHF 87.7

-74.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$7.73 CHF 6.31

-38.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$3.83 CHF 3.13

-15.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$64.8 CHF 52.9

-91.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.43 CHF 1.98

-37.04%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$39.1K CHF 31.9K

-45.68%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$39.8K CHF 32.5K

-41.54%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$274 CHF 223

-69.49%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$28.38 CHF 23.17

-18.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$54.7 CHF 44.64

-49.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$87.0 CHF 71.0

-35.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$52.9 CHF 43.18

-46.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$24.23 CHF 19.79

-79.36%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$2,564 CHF 2,094

-91.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$35.2K CHF 28.7K

-85.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$139 CHF 114

-68.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$60.8 CHF 49.62

-30.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$158 CHF 129

-54.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$188 CHF 153

-52.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,809 CHF 1,477

-45.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$1,544 CHF 1,261

-75.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$2,929 CHF 2,391

-42.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$2,603 CHF 2,126

-58.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$14.9K CHF 12.2K

-73.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$12.1K CHF 9,880

-49.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

1.98

478.28%

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 Lancy: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Lancy

$1.5K 44.6% 304% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Lancy

$574 16.6% 123% $316

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Lancy

$453 13.1% 126% $253

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Lancy

$357 10.3% 166% $222

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Lancy

$246 7.1% 121% $135

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Lancy

$135 3.9% 104% $69

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lancy

$153 4.4% 203% $102

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $1,809 in Lancy. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $124 in Lancy for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $574 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇭 Lancy

🕒 Local time

03:07 3:07 AM

09:07 9:07 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

10,919

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.816 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.917 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Lancy 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
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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 Lancy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 65% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $5,192 in Lancy 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 $1,809 in Lancy. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $3,462 in Lancy – Playa del Carmen is about 65% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 75% less than in Lancy. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,462 in Lancy, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lancy. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lancy, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Lancy. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.