Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Marsta

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,609 in Marsta, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Marsta
Learn more

Marsta Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Marsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,609

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,609 in Marsta, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Marsta $1,609

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,571 in Marsta, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Marsta $2,571

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,532 in Marsta, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Marsta $3,532

Playa del Carmen is about 25% cheaper than Marsta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Marsta is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$13.05 SEK 127

-18.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$65.7 SEK 640

-33.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$10.40 SEK 101

13.37%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$4.54 SEK 44.20

-16.52%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.00 SEK 19.52

-35.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$1.87 SEK 18.22

-55.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$7.35 SEK 71.6

-57.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$7.00 SEK 68.2

-29.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.79 SEK 17.42

-21.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$3.08 SEK 30.05

-28.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$5.82 SEK 56.8

-74.74%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$3.62 SEK 35.33

-30.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$14.05 SEK 137

-48.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$9.10 SEK 88.7

-12.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$17.57 SEK 171

-26.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.02 SEK 29.39

-3.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.72 SEK 26.49

-49.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$2.02 SEK 19.67

23.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$3.88 SEK 37.85

-47.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.50 SEK 14.61

34.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.56 SEK 15.18

21.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$2.10 SEK 20.45

-45.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$1.93 SEK 18.76

-35.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$6.98 SEK 68.0

-38.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$10.31 SEK 101

-4.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.98 SEK 19.26

-19.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.20 SEK 21.48

25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$3.28 SEK 31.92

-84.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$75.1 SEK 732

-63.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$13.24 SEK 129

-64.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$2.09 SEK 20.37

55.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$58.2 SEK 567

-90.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.80 SEK 17.52

-15.00%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$33.9K SEK 330.6K

-37.46%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$33.5K SEK 326.2K

-30.49%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$61.5 SEK 599

35.82%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$28.35 SEK 276

-18.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$40.76 SEK 397

-32.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$36.81 SEK 359

53.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$23.93 SEK 233

17.80%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$17.46 SEK 170

-71.36%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$207 SEK 2,020

-0.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$5,528 SEK 53.9K

-5.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$51.6 SEK 503

-15.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$31.12 SEK 303

36.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$92.5 SEK 901

-21.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$101 SEK 989

-12.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$904 SEK 8,808

10.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$554 SEK 5,404

-31.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,360 SEK 13.3K

23.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,040 SEK 10.1K

3.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$3,648 SEK 35.6K

7.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,967 SEK 28.9K

106.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$4,668 SEK 45.5K

-82.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.8

308.93%

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 Marsta: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Marsta

$554 34.5% 45% $172

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Marsta

$360 22.4% 39.8% $102

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Marsta

$256 15.9% 28% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Marsta

$131 8.1% 2.8% $3.7

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Marsta

$125 7.7% 12% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Marsta

$72 4.5% 8% $5.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Marsta

$112 7% 122% $61

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $904 in Marsta. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Marsta are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $66 in Marsta. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $360 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Marsta

🕒 Local time

02:13 2:13 AM

08:13 8:13 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

24,068

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 SEK = 10.26 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 SEK (1 SEK = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.97 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Marsta 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Marsta

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 Marsta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Marsta is pricier by about 34%, 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 $2,414 in Marsta. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $995 in Playa del Carmen and $904 in Marsta. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $66 in Marsta. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,609 in Marsta. That makes Playa del Carmen about 25% cheaper.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Marsta at $1,609. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Marsta it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,609 in Marsta. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Marsta makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.