Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sundsvall

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,704 in Sundsvall, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Sundsvall, Sweden
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Sundsvall
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,704
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,704 in Sundsvall, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,204
  • Sundsvall $1,704

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,607 in Sundsvall, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Sundsvall $2,607

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,509 in Sundsvall, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,959
  • Sundsvall $3,509

Playa del Carmen is about 29% cheaper than Sundsvall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Sundsvall is 25% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.92 MX$205
$14.87 SEK 146
-26.56%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.37 MX$815
$81.0 SEK 795
-46.43%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.78 MX$221
$11.06 SEK 109
6.51%
Cappuccino
$3.81 MX$71.6
$4.58 SEK 44.94
-16.81%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$24.10
$2.35 SEK 23.03
-45.53%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 MX$14.71
$1.90 SEK 18.63
-58.95%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.17 MX$59.5
$8.41 SEK 82.6
-62.31%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$92.7
$7.34 SEK 72.1
-32.83%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.43
$1.50 SEK 14.71
-6.00%
White Bread (500g)
$2.22 MX$41.66
$2.93 SEK 28.73
-24.23%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 MX$26.64
$3.61 SEK 35.46
-60.66%
Eggs
$2.52 MX$47.41
$3.42 SEK 33.54
-26.32%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.26 MX$137
$9.42 SEK 92.5
-22.93%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.70 MX$145
$9.61 SEK 94.3
-19.88%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.69 MX$239
$17.47 SEK 172
-27.36%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 MX$52.3
$2.76 SEK 27.07
0.72%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 MX$25.71
$2.33 SEK 22.93
-41.20%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.94
$2.41 SEK 23.67
5.81%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.12 MX$39.90
$4.02 SEK 39.45
-47.26%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.43
$1.49 SEK 14.60
30.20%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 MX$35.44
$1.34 SEK 13.18
41.04%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.15 MX$21.55
$1.79 SEK 17.53
-35.75%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 MX$22.16
$0.93 SEK 9.17
26.88%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.30 MX$80.7
$7.46 SEK 73.3
-42.36%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.95 MX$187
$9.17 SEK 90.1
8.51%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 MX$29.76
$1.68 SEK 16.52
-5.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 MX$50.2
$1.32 SEK 12.97
102.27%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$10.40
$3.30 SEK 32.38
-83.33%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.62 MX$500
$85.1 SEK 836
-68.73%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.97 MX$93.4
$6.19 SEK 60.8
-19.71%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.33 MX$62.6
$5.90 SEK 58.0
-43.56%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.36 MX$101
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$27.14
$1.70 SEK 16.74
-15.29%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.7K MX$388.4K
$30.4K SEK 298.7K
-32.05%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.5K MX$441.0K
$30.8K SEK 302.3K
-23.77%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.8 MX$1,594
$101 SEK 996
-16.45%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.41 MX$440
$28.43 SEK 279
-17.66%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.66 MX$539
$36.29 SEK 356
-21.03%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.1 MX$1,072
$40.19 SEK 395
41.95%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.91 MX$543
$16.19 SEK 159
78.57%
Cinema Ticket
$5.14 MX$96.6
$13.96 SEK 137
-63.18%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,882
$140 SEK 1,374
47.59%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,927 MX$73.8K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.35 MX$815
$93.5 SEK 919
-53.66%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.44 MX$779
$19.96 SEK 196
107.62%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.2 MX$1,394
$66.9 SEK 656
10.99%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.3 MX$1,677
$124 SEK 1,214
-27.79%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$980 MX$18.4K
$661 SEK 6,486
48.30%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$381 MX$7,157
$605 SEK 5,938
-37.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$32.1K
$1,213 SEK 11.9K
40.85%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,075 MX$20.2K
$893 SEK 8,772
20.35%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,943 MX$74.1K
$2,411 SEK 23.7K
63.51%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,158 MX$115.7K
$1,653 SEK 16.2K
272.49%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Sundsvall
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$735 MX$13.8K
$3,008 SEK 29.5K
-75.58%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
3.88
195.10%

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 Sundsvall: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$381
Sundsvall
$605 58.8% $224
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$255
Sundsvall
$313 23% $59
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Sundsvall
$281 38.7% $78
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Sundsvall
$166 21.4% $29
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$112
Sundsvall
$137 22.4% $25
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$67
Sundsvall
$68 1.2% $0.8
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Sundsvall
$134 166% $84

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $661 in Sundsvall. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sundsvall are about 4.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $81 in Sundsvall. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $313 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇸🇪 Sundsvall
🕒 Local time
00:24 12:24 AM
06:24 6:24 AM
6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
57,606
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Sundsvall 8,700 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Sundsvall

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 Sundsvall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Sundsvall?
Yes – Sundsvall is pricier by about 41%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,556 in Sundsvall. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Sundsvall, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $661 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Sundsvall?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,704 in Sundsvall. That makes Playa del Carmen about 29% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 69% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Playa del Carmen or in Sundsvall?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Sundsvall at $1,704. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sundsvall it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city suits remote workers better?
For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,704 in Sundsvall. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sundsvall makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

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