Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ostersund

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,761 in Ostersund, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half 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 Ostersund
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Ostersund Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Ostersund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,761

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,761 in Ostersund.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Ostersund $1,761

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,732 in Ostersund.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ostersund $2,732

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,703 in Ostersund.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Ostersund $3,703

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 32% less than in Ostersund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Ostersund is 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$14.51 SEK 143

-26.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$68.6 SEK 677

-36.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$9.03 SEK 89.1

30.56%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$4.35 SEK 42.96

-12.87%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$2.57 SEK 25.36

-49.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$2.03 SEK 20.01

-59.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

$7.80 SEK 77.0

-59.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

$7.36 SEK 72.7

-33.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.44 SEK 14.22

-2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$3.03 SEK 29.92

-27.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$4.78 SEK 47.17

-69.25%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$3.34 SEK 32.91

-25.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$13.80 SEK 136

-47.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$11.78 SEK 116

-32.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$15.72 SEK 155

-18.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$4.30 SEK 42.47

-32.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$2.92 SEK 28.83

-52.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$3.53 SEK 34.84

-29.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$4.21 SEK 41.52

-51.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.61 SEK 15.87

25.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.61 SEK 15.94

18.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$2.33 SEK 23.00

-51.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$1.56 SEK 15.40

-20.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$7.70 SEK 76.0

-44.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$10.05 SEK 99.2

-2.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$2.15 SEK 21.20

-26.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$2.27 SEK 22.45

21.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$3.26 SEK 32.20

-84.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$76.3 SEK 753

-64.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$6.12 SEK 60.4

-22.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$1.69 SEK 16.67

92.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$60.8 SEK 600

-91.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$1.78 SEK 17.57

-14.04%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$30.7K SEK 302.8K

-30.85%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$36.5K SEK 360.1K

-36.25%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$118 SEK 1,161

-29.02%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$23.84 SEK 235

-2.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$39.29 SEK 388

-29.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$37.62 SEK 371

50.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$26.52 SEK 262

6.30%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$15.13 SEK 149

-66.95%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$127 SEK 1,251

63.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$5,587 SEK 55.1K

-6.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$93.2 SEK 920

-53.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$42.48 SEK 419

0.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$79.4 SEK 783

-8.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$142 SEK 1,403

-37.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$812 SEK 8,018

22.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$610 SEK 6,022

-37.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$1,394 SEK 13.8K

20.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$1,038 SEK 10.2K

4.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$3,784 SEK 37.3K

3.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$2,495 SEK 24.6K

145.97%

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 Ostersund: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Ostersund

$610 34.6% 59.6% $228

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Ostersund

$370 21% 43.9% $113

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Ostersund

$268 15.2% 33.6% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Ostersund

$181 10.3% 34.6% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Ostersund

$161 9.1% 44.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Ostersund

$68 3.9% 2.2% $1.4

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ostersund

$104 5.9% 106% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $812 in Ostersund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $69 in Ostersund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $370 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇪 Ostersund

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

16:22 4:22 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

44,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 SEK = 10.13 USD

100 SEK = 9.02 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 = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.87 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.08 SEK (100 SEK = 9.02 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ostersund 8,540 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ostersund

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 Ostersund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $2,642 in Ostersund 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 $812 in Ostersund. 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 $1,761 in Ostersund – Playa del Carmen is about 32% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 64% less than in Ostersund. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,761 in Ostersund, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ostersund. 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.